dollars was the victim of an elaborate conspiracy, his defence lawyer claimed yesterday.

Summing ap at the end of a week-long trial, Mr. Mark Pettingill told the four-man eight-woman Supreme Court jury that Carlston Hollis Spencer was "the victim of people he trusted and who abused him''.

Spencer, 52, of Harlem Heights Road, Hamilton Parish has denied importing and handling about five kilos of marijuana on April 6, 1994.

Customs officers at Number 8 Shed discovered the drugs concealed inside one of 56 cases of Black and Tan beer imported by Spencer from the United States.

In an undercover operation, Police replaced the case with a dummy package and dusted it with fingerprint powder.

A plain clothed Policeman followed the truck that collected the cases to Hip Hop Fashions boutique in Hamilton Parish where Spencer was arrested.

Spencer has maintained he knew nothing of the drugs.

But yesterday, Crown Counsel Mr. Peter DeJulio told jurors they should assume Spencer knew the case contained drugs unless he proved otherwise.

Notwithstanding that, he said, there was sufficient evidence to warrant a conviction.

The facts that Spencer had lied to the Police several times, had sent money to Jamaica and that the money sent matched the value of the drugs found all pointed to his guilt, Mr. DeJulio claimed.

But Mr. Pettingill painted a different picture.

He said Spencer was the victim of a drug smuggling conspiracy by two brothers.

One brother, he claimed, was the owner of Hip Hop Fashions -- the premises adjacent to a storeroom used by Spencer for his beer.

The other drove the truck that transported the beer cases from the docks to the boutique on April 6 last year. Mr. Pettingill pointed out his client was not charged with conspiracy to import.

"Would a clever drug smuggler leave a trail of receipts and documents that led straight back to him?'' he asked.

Furthermore, no drug equipment was found in his home, his fingerprints were not found on the dummy case and there was no evidence to show the money transfers were used to buy drugs, Mr. Pettingill said.

Puisne Judge Mrs. Justice Wade will sum up the case on Monday.