A Jamaican national allegedly imported cocaine valued at more than $140,000, a Supreme Court jury heard yesterday.

Leighton Horace Griffiths, 33, of King Street, Pembroke, pleaded not guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to supply.

The court heard he was arrested on July 1, 2005, when he went to the L.F. Wade International Airport to collect an air compressor containing 480 grams of cocaine with a street value of $144,000.

Griffiths is represented by defence lawyer Mark Pettingill while Robert Welling is appearing for the Crown.

The first witness for the Crown, Customs Officer Andrea McKey, told the ten-woman, two-man jury a package arrived at the Airport on July 1 addressed to a Paul Slagel, at Morning Star, Tucker’s Town, from Denise Robinson, of 99 Green Brian, Ontario, Canada. She said she was suspicious of the package and asked another Customs Officer to look at it.

Ms McKey told the court the valve on the compressor was blocked, the hole was filled with a substance and it smelled of glue. Because the package was abnormal, she called the narcotics division of the Bermuda Police Service.

She told the jury that Det. Con. Wandol Thorpe and Det. Con. Roger Saints came to the Airport, collected the package but shortly after, Senior Customs Officer Hayward came back with the package and put it back on the Air Canada rack.

Ms. McKey told the court they wanted to see who would come for it.

She said that around 3.40 p.m. that day, a gentleman came to pick up the package. His paperwork matched the airway bill on the package.

He signed for it and walked towards the car park with the package where he was arrested.

Det. Con. Thorpe told the court he went to the Airport after receiving a call about a suspicious package. He said when he was asked to look at the compressor, he saw an incision beneath the label on top of it.

He confirmed the package was sent to Paul Slagel but said the shipper was Dennis Robinson.

The witness said he gave the box back to the Customs Officers and waited in the parking lot in an unmarked car with Det. Con. Saints.

He saw the defendant coming out of the airport wearing a white shirt and blue jeans with the compressor box in his hand, the court heard.

The officer said he approached Griffiths, told him he was a Police officer and arrested him.

Det. Con. Thorpe said he asked the defendant his name and he told him Leighton Griffiths. He said he asked who had sent him for the package and was told someone told him to get it. The defendant pointed to a grey Nissan van travelling east past the Airport.

He told the court he put the defendant in the car and drove towards the grey van. He asked him who the man was, but the defendant didn’t know his name. He only knew him as “Bigga” because he had done contracting work for him.

The defendant and the two men in the car — later known to be Wilton Woolridge and Shaki Darrell — were taken to the Hamilton Police Station.

Griffiths asked to speak to his wife, Rodricka Griffiths, but then asked to call woman named Ann Marie who he also said was his wife. He then called several law firms unsuccessfully.

Det. Con. Thorpe opened the compressor in front of the three men. It contained newspaper clippings and eight long packages of cocaine, the court heard.

Later that evening, officers went to Griffiths home with him to conduct a search. They found a C Travel itinerary, a Jamaican passport, two Air Canada boarding passes, an Alamo Toronto car rental receipt and a pre-paid CellularOne phone card.