The case against Rodwell Edmond Symonds fell apart after the Crown?s lead witness said he was uncomfortable giving evidence because of the length of time elapsed between the alleged crime and trial.

Witness Leon Tacklyn said: ?At the time I don?t feel right giving evidence. It was five years ago and I have forgotten most of it. At this time I am not really interested in giving evidence.?

Defence counsel Mark Pettingill expressed his dismay at the length of time it took for the Supreme Court trial to take place. He described the five-year wait as unsatisfactory and ?cruel and unusual?. He said that even if the trial had gone forward his client would have been found innocent. Mr. Symonds, 39, of South Shore Road, Warwick, was accused of importing drugs into the Island via a container of Bermuda Regiment equipment and supplies in 2000.

Mr. Symonds was accompanying the Bermuda Regiment as their chef during their annual training camp in Jamaica in March, 2000. It was alleged that Mr. Symonds stashed a controlled drug in a case of green beans.

The amount and value of the drug was not revealed in court.

Mr. Tacklyn gave a statement to Police regarding the incident on November 15, 2001 and another statement in early in 2002. When Crown counsel Paula Tyndale asked the witness if he would like to refresh his memory of the events by looking at the sworn statements he made to Police he replied: ?I do not wish to give evidence.?

Ms Tyndale then told the court that the case was based around evidence Mr. Tacklyn had previously given and could not go further without it. The Crown had planned to call 13 witnesses.

Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons instructed the jury to find Mr. Symonds not guilty. As Mr. Symonds left court he wiped away tears of joy and hugged Mr. Pettingill.