A Bermudian who had cannabis and cannabis resin stashed in the crotch area of his pants after arriving on a flight from New York told a magistrate he did not know he was carrying the drugs.

But Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner was not convinced Gary Troy Burgess had simply forgotten he had drugs in his possession after a vacation to Holland and fined him a total of $3,000 for drug importation.

Burgess, 25, of Camp Hill Road, Southampton pleaded guilty to importing 0.59 grams of cannabis and 1.11 grams of cannabis resin into the Island on November 25 after arriving on a US flight at Bermuda International Airport.

Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney told the court that Burgess had been selected for a secondary Customs inspection but nothing had been found in his luggage.

However, a narcotics officer decided he was to be personally searched and at this point Burgess produced a zip lock bag from the groin area of his pants.

On examination the zip lock bag was found to contain two other bags that contained a plant-like substance and a brown substance, which were analysed and found to be cannabis and cannabis resin.

The court was told Burgess has no previous convictions in Bermuda. I

n mitigation the 25-year-old said: “I apologise. I went on vacation and I had some fun and I had no idea I had anything on me. It must have got mixed up in my luggage.”

He told the court he was aiming to study excavation work in England and was saving for that.

Mr. Warner felt Burgess had been untruthful with the court when he claimed he had not known he was carrying the drugs but then pulled them from the crotch area of his pants.

Burgess was fined $1,500 for importing cannabis and $1,500 for importing cannabis resin and ordered to the pay both fines by the end of the day.