importing crack cocaine with a street value of nearly $750,000.

In Supreme Court yesterday Derrick Hewey, 29, pleaded guilty to bringing the drug in on a flight from Atlanta on February 6.

Hewey was stopped and searched by Customs officers at the Airport who found seven frosty mugs in his luggage containing a brown liquid.

They also found a tin of peanuts with a price tag in Jamaican dollars -- even though the construction worker maintained that he had never travelled beyond Atlanta during his trip and that the mugs did not contain drugs.

Tests later revealed that the liquid contained 1,270 grammes of crack cocaine with a street value of $708,500.

Hewey initially denied the importation charge, along with two other counts of possession with intent to supply and handling illegal drugs. Defence lawyer Marc Telemaque pleaded on behalf of his client for a shorter sentence, noting his client's last minute change of plea to guilty for importation. The other charges were dropped.

Mr. Telemaque said Hewey had not acted alone in the operation.

"He found himself in the wrong company,'' he said.

"The lack of sophistication indicates that this is no professional. My client is not an experienced courier.'' Mr. Telemaque pointed out that his client had only one previous charge on his record -- assaulting two Police officers last year.

Hewey apologised to the community and his family. He said he would like to be able to see his daughter whom he loved very much.

Before sentencing Hewey, Chief Justice Austin Ward said: "This incident would have caused a certain amount of damage to society.''