Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

‘Bricks of marijuana’ were found in woman’s luggage, court told

Mary Darnell Johnson, 53, of Pembroke, is accused of conspiring to import 49 kilos of cannabis.

A woman attempted to smuggle 49 kilos of cannabis into Bermuda from the US in false-bottomed luggage, a jury heard yesterday.Mary Darnell Johnson, 53, of Pembroke, is accused of conspiring with others to import the drugs to Bermuda, between a date unknown and October 21, 2010. She denies the charge.Her Supreme Court trial began with Prosecutor Larissa Burgess putting to the jury that Ms Johnson checked the four pieces of luggage on a return flight from Newark, New Jersey, after five days in the US.Chosen for a random inspection at the airport, Ms Johnson appeared nervous, Ms Burgess said.She was allowed to board the plane and then asked to disembark. When her luggage was probed, Ms Burgess said, plant matter was found concealed inside, and Ms Johnson was arrested.Ms Burgess also told the jury they might hear that Ms Johnson, who is represented by lawyer Larry Mussenden, had been “suspicious of those bags”.The Crown’s first witness, special agent Michael Perreault of US Homeland Security, described an inspector’s discovery of the drugs at Newark Liberty International Airport.Mr Perreault said “bricks of marijuana” were uncovered, wrapped in electrical tape and paper, from behind the lining of Ms Johnson’s luggage.The trial continues today.