A construction worker accused of plotting to import drugs was cleared by the unanimous verdict of a jury this afternoon.

Derek Burchall, 43, was accused of conspiring with Ivan Albouy, 40, to bring in cocaine, cannabis, and ecstasy from Jamaica.

Mr. Albouy was caught with almost $350,000 worth of those drugs at Newark Airport on July 25, 2007, as he travelled home to Bermuda via the US.

He pleaded guilty, was jailed for five years, and is now on parole.

Mr. Albouy agreed to help the authorities, and was the key Crown witness in the case against Mr. Burchall.

He told the jury during the course of a five-day Supreme Court trial that Mr. Burchall paid him to do numerous drug runs during 2006 and 2007.

However the accused, from Sandys, denied any involvement in the alleged drug plot.

He was a customer at Mr. Albouy’s barbershop in Court Street, and said the only thing he was guilty of was occasionally buying cannabis from Mr. Albouy.

Mr. Burchall, who is around 5 ft 4 ins tall, told the jury the only reason he could think of that Mr. Albouy would point the finger at him is because he is a small man.

The Police set up a surveillance operation at Mr. Albouy’s apartment in Pembroke to catch whoever arrived to pick up the drugs during a “controlled delivery”.

However, the court heard that undercover detectives were unable to see or hear the person who arrived, and failed to arrest that person at that time.

Mr. Burchall denied during the case that he was the person in question.

The jury cleared him after just two hours of deliberations this afternoon, prompting scenes of emotion and jubilation from his family.

See tomorrow’s edition of The Royal Gazette for the full story and reaction.