A man accused of smuggling cannabis and liquid cocaine into Bermuda told police that he had agreed to bring a suitcase to the island for someone to clear a debt.

However, he told officers that he was given an empty suitcase and knew nothing about the drugs that were found inside the case when it arrived in Bermuda.

Alexta Gill, a foreign national, has denied charges that he imported 9,472 grammes of cannabis and 800 grammes of liquid cocaine into the island in March 2023.

Last week, the court heard that Mr Gill flew to the island with Jhordan George-Horsford on March 2, 2023 on a WestJet flight from Toronto.

However, one of their suitcases did not come on the flight and was instead brought to the island on March 4 on an Air Canada Flight.

Customs officials searched the bag on arrival. It contained men’s clothes, as well as six heat-sealed packages wrapped in black plastic and a whisky bottle containing a suspicious substance that turned out to be liquid cocaine.

As the trial continued this week, the jury was shown footage of a police interview recorded after his arrest.

During the interview, Mr Gill said that he agreed to bring a suitcase to Bermuda for someone named “Andre” to clear an $8,000 debt.

He said that he had a falling out with the man in October 2022.

However, in February 2023, Andre came to his home and made him the offer.

“It wasn’t like a question,” he said. “It was more demanding. If you don’t do this I will kill you, I will kill your whole family.”

Mr Gill said he initially turned down the suggestion but changed his mind two days later and Andre gave him a black suitcase to bring to Bermuda.

He said that the case appeared to be empty and Andre told him not to worry about its contents.

“I just took the suitcase and that was it,” he said. “I put my clothes in the suitcase and that was it.”

He said that be believed Andre booked the flight, while Andre’s cousin booked a hotel in Bermuda.

Mr Gill told the officers that he believed that Andre had associates who worked for the airport but he did not know them and had no contact with them.

He said that he intended to call Andre once he was on the island but it “kept slipping his mind” and he never did so.

Asked how, he told the officers that Andre’s details were in his call log.

He added: “He didn’t give me no plan or tell me I had to meet someone or anything like that.”

Mr Gill repeatedly told the officers that Jhordan George-Horsford, with whom he travelled to Bermuda, had no knowledge about the drugs or the threats because he did not want to scare her.

“She had no idea whatsoever,” he said. “She didn’t know nothing until we got arrested.”

Yesterday in the Supreme Court, Nicole Smith, for the defence, questioned Detective Sergeant Dré Wilkinson, the officer in charge of the case, on aspects of how police had handled the matter.

Ms Smith asked Mr Wilkinson to elaborate on the police term “chain of custody”, which the officer explained meant keeping a signed record whenever an item of evidence went from one officer to another.

Ms Smith continued: “And it’s a term that’s rooted in consistency in procedure, meaning that it charts the location and custody of an item at every moment of its existence.”

After Mr Wilkinson agreed, she said: “And so, in relation to the black suitcase, I would suggest to you that the chain of custody was broken. It was breached; it was not consistent.”

She said police could not account for the suitcase for two days, from March 2 to 4, when it was still in Canada.

She added: “You received no chain of custody from Canada in relation to that bag.”

Mr Wilkinson said that he had not and he agreed that he had not contacted the Canadian airport authorities at any point.

She added: “And the Canadian authorities never contacted you or any local person in connection to this suitcase.

“In other words, no one called you up to say, ‘Hey, Bermuda Police Service, we have a suitcase here that has drugs in it.’ Nobody ever did that.”

Mr Wilkinson confirmed that they had not.

The trial continues.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding criminal court cases. This is to prevent any statements being published that may jeopardise the outcome of that case