Attempts to seize up to $2 million from a drug importer have been called into question because the haul he was convicted of bringing into Bermuda was never found, a court heard yesterday.

Attorney Kamal Durrant, representing Kirk Roberts, told a confiscation hearing that the court could not be sure 200 pounds of cannabis was imported into Bermuda.

And, because there was no physical evidence of the drugs, he said the court could never be sure about the ?quality or quantity? when it came to making a valuation.

Mr. Durrant also asked how Roberts could have benefited from any importation when he was arrested two days before the prosecution said it took place. He also said the drugs could have been ?water-damaged? and worthless when they got into his client?s possession.

But Puisne Judge Ian Kawaley said the jury in Roberts? trial had to be satisfied that there was an agreement to import cannabis before they returned a guilty verdict.

And he pointed to a conversation Roberts had after his arrest, with the German sailboat owner who later testified against him in court, when he said: ?It?s cool. I?ve not lost anything. You just need to keep calm for a while.?

Prosecutors are attempting to seize up to $2 million from Roberts ? nearly four years after he was convicted of conspiring to import cannabis worth an estimated $1.9 million into the Island. The Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is seeking to claim the sum from the champion powerboat racer under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

At an earlier hearing, prosecutors said Roberts set up a ?sham? trust to shield his true financial interest in the home from authorities, should he get caught drug trafficking and attempts were then made to claw back any crime-funded assets.

A property at West Side Road, Sandys, valued at about $640,000, was transferred by Roberts? parents to trustees in 1999 and no cash changed hands. Mr. Durrant, however, has told the court that his client never made any money from crime.

He said Roberts? interest in the property could not be considered a ?realisable asset?. And he has denied the trust was merely an attempt to hide the house from authorities. He told an earlier hearing that the trust was a way of tying up a loan and the value of the property.

Roberts says the house was never legally his and could not be touched anyway because it was in the trust benefiting 21 people including Roberts and his wife.

But Senior Crown counsel Paula Tyndale said the property was owned by Roberts and his wife and they were the only two trustees who benefited.

Roberts was jailed for ten years in 2002 for conspiracy to import 200 pounds of cannabis into the Island in 2000.

The drugs have never been recovered. Prosecutors say they should be classed as an asset. His trial judge said he played a central role in a complex conspiracy to have drugs brought into Bermuda.

The ongoing civil case ? deciding how much Roberts should be forced to pay ? was adjourned until today (TUES).