A package a man collected from the Hamilton DHL office for his "best friend" contained enough heroin for 74,000 separate sales of the drug, a Supreme Court jury heard yesterday.

Detective Sergeant Dennis Gordon testified that heroin involved was the equivalent of 74,000 decks of heroin and would be worth $1.48 million at today's street price in Bermuda of $20 per deck.

Michael Anthony Clamens, 23, of Mount Hill, Pembroke, is facing three separate drug charges in relation to the heroin which came into the country by international courier from Jakarta, Indonesia.

The drugs were concealed within cosmetics bottles in a DHL box addressed to "Leonard Swan" of Cottage Hill Road, delivered to Bermuda on August 19, 1999.

DS Gordon said it was determined by a Government analyst that the 348 grams of heroin found in the DHL package were of 75 percent purity and that a "deck" of heroin normally contains roughly three milligrams of pure heroin within 11 milligrams of other agents such as glucose. The amount involved was clearly not intended for personal use, DS Gordon said, adding "but for distribution by the individual on whom it was found or by someone acting on his behalf."

The court also heard that after the drugs were intercepted by Customs at the airport, a dummy package was prepared in order to follow the trail of the drugs through the various dealers.

Customs officer Timothy Hayward told the court that he prepared the dummy package replacing the heroin with a control substance.

On cross examination by defence attorney Larry Mussenden, Mr. Hayward said he was observing when Clamens retrieved the dummy DHL package from the courier officer and had noticed another man - Luke Hill - concealing himself in the area at the time.

Yesterday, the court heard that after the pick-up, Police intercepted Clamens, who told officers he knew nothing of any drugs and agreed to co-operate in a "controlled delivery" to the next recipient - his friend Sharif Taylor.

Sharif Boyd Taylor, 24, of Aubrey Road, Hamilton Parish was sentenced to eight years in prison in March after pleading guilty to handling illicit drugs for his part in the heroin importation triangle. Detective Constable John Clutterbuck read for the court a statement given to Police by Clamens after that delivery took place all three men - Clamens, Hill and Taylor - were arrested.In that statement, Clamens said his best friend of 12 years - Taylor - asked him to pick up the package as a favour the day before his arrest.

He told Police Taylor was accompaHe told Police Taylor was accompanied by a man he didn't recognise but later learned was Hill.

On the morning of the drug bust - Monday, August 22, 1999 - Taylor brought Clamens a cycle to use when he collected the package and a DHL identification number.

Clamens said he was questioning himself as to why Taylor did not pick the package up himself but did not ask.

But, once at the DHL office, Clamens told Police he became suspicious because there was no package addressed to Taylor and the number matched a box for "Lenny Swan".

"I know when people do shady things they use false names," Clamens said.

Nevertheless, he collected the package, left DHL and was intercepted by Police minutes later.

After agreeing with Police to continue the delivery, the court heard that Clamens accompanied Police to the home of Taylor and subsequently passed the package on to him.

At the home, Taylor stashed the drugs in his yard, returned and offered Clamens a glass of juice. "That's when you lot rushed in," Clamens told Police.

Clamens is accused of importation, possession and handling of the drugs with intent to supply.

The trial before Acting Puisne Judge Archibald Warner continues today.