A Bermudian drug-runner arrested last month during a near record-setting bust off the small Netherlands Antilles island of Saba could face up to 20 years in prison, The Royal Gazette was told yesterday.

Winston Robinson, 60, appeared in a St. Maarten court yesterday afternoon before a Judge of Instruction. He is charged with transporting and attempting to import more than 10,000 pounds of marijuana, but under the Dutch laws which govern this Caribbean island, he is not required to enter a plea - ever.

“Our system is very different,” Chief Prosecutor Cor Merx explained yesterday.

Robinson can be held in the island's House of Detention for 106 days before he must be tried in court. During that time, Police will continue to build their case against him and the five other men who were arrested when his boat, the Carl Senior, broke down on June 25 and had to be rescued by a Dutch navy frigate.

The 150 bales of marijuana on board were impossible to hide on the rickety 48-foot wooden, fishing boat. The drugs would have a street value of almost $200 million in Bermuda.

But in St. Maarten, a transhipment hub for drugs being run from South America to Europe or the United States, the same load would generate only $3 million Netherlands Antilles guilder (less than $2 million).

It is still unknown whether any of the drugs on board were destined for Bermuda, but top Narcotics officers from the Bermuda Police Service were in St. Maarten this week to interview Robinson about his links to Bermudian drug rings.

Bermuda Police have been interested in his drug trafficking activities for almost two years, an officer told The Royal Gazette, although they suspect he has been active for longer.

With Caribbean counterparts, Police have been watching the Carl Senior's movements from its base in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. But Robinson was never caught on any of his many previous drug runs.

Now imprisoned high on a Philipsburg hill, he is cooperating with Bermuda Police and arrests here in Bermuda are imminent.

“A discussion will be held between Narcotics and the Director of Public Prosecutions,” The Royal Gazette was told by a key officer interviewing Robinson in St. Maarten.

“There is an anticipation of further arrests in Bermuda.”

Bermuda Police were under instructions to restrict their questioning to matters related directly to the Island and not to interfere with the Dutch Antillians' case against Robinson and the five other men arrested aboard the Carl Senior. While Mr. Merx told The Royal Gazette St. Maarten would be willing to consider a request from Bermuda to turn over the former Mangrove Bay man, Police said that option is not under consideration. Robinson will be tried locally and, if convicted, serve his entire sentence here.

“There is an anticipation we may return to St. Maarten leading up to his release, however,” The Royal Gazette was told.

The local Office of the Public Prosecutor has 90 days remaining to try Robinson in St. Maarten's Court of First Instance, Mr. Merx said. His case will be heard by a single judge as their are no jury trials.

Robinson and the five others arrested on his boat - from Venezuela, Colombia, St. Kitts and Curacao, another Dutch Antilles Island - must be brought before the Judge of Instruction every 30 days until then.

“We are still investigating the roles of the captain (Robinson) and the others,” Mr. Merx said.

“We want to know where the drugs come from and where he was sailing to. All of this must be investigated before the case can be filed.”

The men are facing sentences of between four and 20 years in relation to the drug bust which Mr. Merx called “one of the largest” ever in St. Maarten.

While there is no plea system, Robinson and the others were assigned lawyers from the day they were arrested, he added, and defendants are occasionally found not guilty. Even if they are convicted, it is unlikely they will serve their full prison terms. Under Dutch law, nine months in prison is considered equivalent to one year.

The Carl Senior has been confiscated and will become the permanent possession of local authorities if Robinson is found guilty.

“We will ask for that and I am 99 percent sure the judge will agree with my decision,” Mr. Merx said.

The 10,400 pounds of marijuana which were taken off it has already gone up in smoke. They were burned just one day after confiscation.