A man accused of importing $1.8 million of heroin began moves on Friday to have the case dropped on the grounds he has been held in prison for almost three years without trial.

Andrew Hall, 39, has been in custody for two and three quarter years after being arrested with two others on charges of importing the drugs to Bermuda.

Hall's two co-accused have been jailed for 14 and 18 years, and the American is scheduled to stand trial in January.

But at Supreme Court on Friday, Hall's lawyer Mark Diel tried to get a declaration that his client's constitutional rights had been violated because he had been held without trial for an unreasonable amount of time.

If Assistant Justice Philip Storr rules in his favour, Mr. Diel will be able to apply for habeas corpus to have his client brought to court and the case against him dismissed, or for the Crown to drop the case.

But Solicitor-General Wilhelm Bourne argued the delay was not unreasonable, and the courts in Bermuda were not bound by European Court of Human Rights rulings on accused being tried within a reasonable amount of time.

Jamaican Barris Dawkins, also known as Rudolph Everton Pusey, 46, was jailed for 18 years after pleading guilty to the importation, and Jamaican nurse Teartia Smith, 38, was locked up for 14 years when she admitted smuggling drugs in her underwear.

Mr. Diel said when Hall is tried next month, it will be two years and 10 months after his arrest.

His client has never asked for any adjournments and none of the delays have been caused by him.

He said Chief Justice Austin Ward has expressed his frustration about delays in the court process.

"There is incontroverted evidence that the courts are overwhelmed. Clearly, there are problems with the courts," said Mr. Diel.

He said a former Crown counsel handling the case had admitted in an affidavit that delays had been caused because of congestion in the court diary.

Mr. Bourne said Hall had twice been offered bail, and it had been reduced once to try to accommodate him, but he had been unable to raise a surety.

He quoted legal authorities which he said showed that a two year delay was not unreasonable.

And he said the delay between Hall being arraigned in January this year and tried in January next year was also not unreasonable.

Mr. Bourne was accompanied by Martin Johnson of the Attorney General's Chambers. Mr. Justice Storr will give his ruling tomorrow.