could contain drugs.

The warning came from Magistrate the Wor. Cheryl-Ann Mapp earlier this week after she acquitted self-employed carpenter Mr. Thomas Maxwell of importation, possession and handling of cannabis.

He had been accused of importing a clock featuring a map of Jamaica containing marijuana with a street value in Bermuda of more than $24,000.

But Mrs. Mapp said she did not believe Mr. Maxwell had any knowledge of the drugs. She said: "I would urge you in the future not to bring back souvenirs.

You have had a hard experience. I would urge you not to do this in the future.'' Mrs. Mapp said she had been impressed by the case put by Mr. Maxwell's lawyer Mr. Philip Perinchief, that he had been telling the truth.

The acquittal sparked tearful celebrations among Mr. Maxwell and his family and friends. They hugged outside the courtroom.

Father-of-two Mr. Maxwell, 38, of Bean Dale, Spanish Point, was at the Reggae Sun Splash in Montego Bay, Jamaica with his girlfriend.

At the festival he decided to buy a plaque of Bob Marley and asked whether he could get a plaque of Emperor Haile Selassie.

The stallholder asked Mr. Maxwell where he was from. He said: "I said I was from Bermuda. He said he had family in Hamilton.'' He told Mr. Maxwell that he could make a plaque of Haile Selassie and send it to him in Bermuda if he left his address.

The tradesman then offered to do a deal and sell him the Bob Marley plaque and a clock featuring a map of Jamaica. Mr. Maxwell said: "I said I would buy the two for fifty dollars knowing it would please my girlfriend.'' On his arrival back in Bermuda on August 17. He was stopped at Customs who examined the clock first using an x-ray machine and then by drilling a hole in it.

In his statement Mr. Maxwell said: "They drilled into the plaque and the end of the drill bit was darker than the natural wood. One of the Customs Officers said they believed it to be plant material.

"I am saying that if you found plant material obviously I had been set up. I didn't know anything about any contents. I just thought it was a wooden clock.'' The amount of marijuana was found to be 481 grams with a street value on the Island of $24,050.

Mr. Maxwell was cleared of all the charges. He declined to comment on the case but said he was very happy with the outcome.