The trial of five men accused of conspiring to import cannabis has heard how a boat allegedly involved in the plot appeared in a Somerset harbour two days before it officially checked in to the Island.

According to the case for the crown, George Leonard Lambert, 53, Gladwyn Sherwyn Simmons, 54, Ricardo Michael Tucker, 31, Tristan La-Van Codrington, 30, and Anthony Stanley Martin, 42, agreed together to bring drugs to Bermuda.

Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney has previously told Supreme Court that Simmons went to Florida to purchase a yacht named and then flew Codrington and Tucker to Tampa, Florida, to pilot it back to Bermuda. It is alleged that the yacht left Tampa around February 13 2004, stopped to refuel in South Caicos, and sometime after this picked up Lambert and what Mr. Mahoney described as ?the cargo? somewhere in the northern area of Haiti.

The Crown further alleges that subsequently ?sneaked? into Bermuda, taking advantage of a tracking system being out of service due to Hurricane Fabian.

The court has heard that when Police boarded the yacht on March 11, they found a piece of duct tape with cannabis residue on it. Police who attended Lambert?s home on March 13 found pieces of duct tape which Mr. Mahoney described as ?similar? to that found on the yacht.

They also found plastic buckets and an electric saw with cannabis residue on them and a large amount of ?cannabis sawdust?.

Glenn Riley, a Customs officer at the yacht reporting centre in St. George?s was called as a witness for the Crown yesterday.

He said that on most occasions, newly-arrived vessels are told by Harbour Radio that they must check in there ? this being a mandatory requirement. He said arrived there on March 11, with Tucker and Codrington on board. Under cross-examination from Shade Subair, counsel for Tucker, he said that the mast on the was broken. He also confirmed he was unaware of any communications made by Harbour Radio to the yacht.

The next witness, Bernard Richards, told the court he knew all four defendants apart from Martin. He said that in February 2004 he was asked by Simmons to check a boat to see if it was worthy of purchase. A rate of $500 per day was agreed for this task and Simmons paid for his travel to Orlando plus his board and food, he said.

Mr. Richards said the name of this vessel was and he assumed it was Simmons who eventually purchased it. The crew of the boat consisted of Tucker, the captain, plus Codrington and Simmons. Mr. Richards flew back to Bermuda three or four days after it left.

Under cross-examination from Elizabeth Christopher, counsel for Lambert, Mr. Richards confirmed he had known that defendant since the 1970s and that he is a charter captain who sails boats on long crossings for other people. Shade Subair questioned Mr. Richards on the route which he advised Tucker to take back to Bermuda.

He said this was the ?Old Bahamas Channel? due to prevailing winds, rather than the Florida Straits.

In answer to questions from Charles Richardson, defending Martin, he agreed that it was ?par for the course? when inspecting a boat for someone that expenses such as lodgings would be paid.

The court also heard evidence from Detective Constable David Bird, who was working at Western CID in Somerset in March 2004 and lives on Bethell?s Island in Ely?s Harbour.

He said he saw ? a vessel he had never seen there before ? anchored in the harbour on March 9. He also observed a man from the vessel placing what looked like trash bags onto nearby Enfield Dock. Det. Con. Bird said the yacht was in the harbour for two days.

Lambert, Simmons, Tucker, and Codrington, all of Sandys Parish and Martin, of Jamaica, all deny conspiring together with others to import cannabis between February 1, 2004 and March 11, 2004.

Lambert denies separate charges of possessing cannabis with intent to supply and possessing equipment for the preparation of a controlled drug.

He has pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis and possessing equipment for preparing a controlled drug.

The case continues.