Island because he was penniless, the Supreme Court heard yesterday.

George Spencer, 27, of Robert's Avenue, Devonshire put his life at risk last year by swallowing four condoms full of heroin, later found to weigh 29.2 grams with a street value of roughly $17,000. Yesterday he was sentenced to six years in jail after admitting the offence.

Customs officers became suspicious of Spencer when he walked through the Airport arrivals hall last September 28, shaking and sweating profusely, Crown counsel Mr. Diarmuid Doorly said. He had just arrived from New York.

After Customs and Narcotics officers questioned and searched Spencer, he was taken to hospital for an internal exam.

But while being booked in, he bolted from custody leading officers on a chase down Berry Hill Road.

Mr. Doorly said when Det. Con. Shannon Wolfe caught up with Spencer and tried to stop him, he punched the officer in the face and groin area causing his nose to bleed.