A Supreme Court jury heard closing statements yesterday in the trial of a man accused of smuggling two firearms, along with ammunition and cannabis into the island.

Karim Nelson, for the Crown, said that there was no dispute that there was a conspiracy to import the contraband, and the only question was whether the defendant, Jonah Smith, was a party to it.

Mr Nelson noted that the defendant was involved in conversations about the importation of guns, and the crate that contained the drugs and weapons was delivered to his house.

“They spoke about guns and ammunition,” he said. “Guns and ammunition came into the country and where did it end up? On his doorstep.”

Marc Daniels, counsel for Mr Smith, said there was a dearth of evidence showing that the defendant was involved in any agreement to import the drugs or the weapons.

Mr Daniels said that while Mr Smith accepts that he “juggled” cannabis, he was not involved in the same level of criminality as those who had admitted their role in the plot.

“There is no evidence that he knew that this crate was coming in, what it contained or even that it would come to his house,” he said.

Mr Smith has denied charges that he conspired with others to import more than seven kilograms of cannabis, two firearms and 24 rounds of ammunition between an unknown date and September 24, 2024.

Previously the court heard that police discovered the contraband hidden in a false bottom of a wooden crate shipped to Bermuda.

The drugs and weapons were replaced with dummy packages and, after the crate was collected on September 30, police followed it to Mr Smith’s home, where he was found holding an electric drill.

Taijuan Davis and Malachai Paynter were also arrested in connection with the plot and subsequently pleaded guilty to being involved in it.

Phone records put forward during the trial showed conversations between Mr Smith and Davis, including a September 2023 exchange in which Davis approached the defendant about contributing to the purchase of a “lighter” and “teeth”.

In his closing statement, Mr Nelson, said that during the conversation Mr Smith had asked Davis “how much” and who else was involved before saying that people should talk in person.

“Why is this important? Because after he says that there was never another conversation seen about any guns or ammunition,” Mr Nelson said.

“This is somebody who is quite careful and some discussions he prefers to have in person. You want to talk in person because you don’t want certain things on the record.”

Mr Nelson also argued that Mr Smith had moved his car to Davis’s house to make room in his driveway for the truck to deliver the crate.

While Mr Smith told police that he had driven to Davis’s home to deliver a drill and walked back home because the vehicle was “on its way out” and had difficulty restarting, Mr Nelson said police were able to start the car without difficulty.

“That this version of events he gave to the police, you could totally just discredit it,” he said.

Mr Daniels said that if Mr Smith wanted to move his car to make way for the delivery truck, he would not need to drive it all the way to Davis’s home.

While he agreed that criminal conspiracies are rarely agreed to in writing, the messages between Paynter and Davis actually laid out the plot “like a telenovela story”.

“Everything is in writing,” he said. “Everything is very clear, but any relationship to Mr Smith is not.”

Mr Daniels said that while Mr Smith did ask Davis questions about the plan to import firearms, he said people sometimes ask questions not out of interest but because they want to understand what a friend is going through.

“There was no statement where Mr Smith conveyed he was interested and willing, that he would agree to get involved,” he said.

“It is not clear, but you have to be sure what they mean. They cannot make you feel sure because they are vague in and of themselves.”

Mr Daniels said that a full year passed between the conversation and the importation of the crate, and the evidence suggested that other drug shipments had taken place in the intervening time.

The trial continues.

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