smuggle cannabis worth more than $32,000 into Bermuda.

Manon Kamperman, 26, who is four weeks pregnant, was caught earlier this week as she walked off the Song of America with 656 grams of cannabis.

She was given the cannabis by Arnold Neemar, a cleaner on the ship, who was also jailed for four years by acting Magistrate, the Wor. Ed Bailey, yesterday.

Neemar, 31, from Trinidad, and Kamperman, appeared in court on charges of conspiring to import, importing and possessing cannabis. Both pleaded guilty to all the charges.

Prosecutor Inspector Peter Duffy said that last Tuesday Customs officers were carrying out routine checks on Song of America staff when Kamperman, a cabin steward, approached the check-point. When she was stopped for a search she ran off along Front Street, but was caught by Customs who found 10 plastic wrapped packages stuffed into the waist band of her shorts.

Inspector Duffy said the packages contained 656 grams of cannabis, with a street value of $32,800.

"Two days later, Police officers went to the same cruise ship and arrested Neemar. He admitted carrying cannabis onto the ship from the US,'' added Inspector Duffy.

Kamperman also admitted to the Police to having carried cannabis into the Island once before and Neemar said he had done it "three or four times'' before.

In mitigation, Mr. Bill Cox, said Kamperman, a school teacher's daughter, had qualified as a children's nurse but had worked on the Song of America for the last 18 months.

"She was approached by Neemar asking her to take certain material. She refused until the evening when she decided to take a chance,'' added Mr. Cox.

"She is four weeks pregnant and was going to leave the ship to go back to Holland to have the pregnancy terminated. Her family is distraught by what has happened,'' he said.

Neemar, who is married with two children, was not represented in court, but told Mr. Bailey that he worked for "little or nothing'' and a man had offered him $1,000 to take the cannabis.

Kamperman was jailed for two years on each of the three charges of conspiring to import the cannabis, importing the drug and possession of cannabis. The jail terms will run concurrently.

Neemar was jailed for four years for conspiring to import the drug and importing the cannabis. He was sentenced to three years for possession. The sentence will run concurrently.

In jailing the pair, Mr. Bailey said: "This community has a zero drugs tolerance.'' He told Kamperman: "I am sympathetic to the fact you are pregnant, but you had no need to get involved in this.''