Two local men were given hefty prison sentences in the Supreme Court yesterday for drug importation

Bermudian drug smuggler Quinton Eugene Wade was jailed for eight years yesterday for importing more than $100,000 of crack cocaine after a flight from London on July 23, 2002, and Bryant Clarke Tucker was locked up for seven years after he admitted he had more than 58 grams of cocaine and heroin in his rectum after a New York flight on April 14 this year.

In both instances Government's Ion scan machine detected traces of drugs on the men's luggage, alerting Customs officers for additional searches.

Holes were drilled into metal piping in Wade's bag, eventually revealing a white powder.

He told Police he had bought the drugs in Montego Bay, Jamaica and hoped to make $10,000 from selling it here but continually pleaded not guilty at various court appearances until changing his plea last month.

Crown Counsel Juan Wolffe told the Supreme Court that the 351.8 grammes of crack cocaine was worth $109,900 on the streets of Bermuda.

The court heard that Wade, a jobless, single, 38-year-old from Elliott Street, Pembroke, had a string of drugs offences and had served two and a half years for possession of cocaine with intent to supply.

Mr. Wolffe said little over a year after release Wade was at it again, bent on financial gain and he called for an eight year sentence.

Defence counsel Craig Attridge said Wade had been on a downward spiral caused by his heroin and cocaine addiction but two attempts to get clean had failed.

Assistant Justice Archibald Warner said: "This man has got a horrific previous record that must substantially affect his sentence."

Mr. Attridge said: "He's fully admitted he's a small time dealer who dealt to support his habit."

But Mr. Warner said: "That's what makes Bermuda's drug trade so pernicious and so widespread and so difficult to come to grips with.

"Rather than one or ten groups or cartels there are several small operators dabbling but at the same time killing themselves and killing others."

He said Wade's guilty plea was the only mitigating factor and it had come late in the day.

Wade apologised to the court and pleaded for help in prison to break his addiction.

Mr. Warned obliged by recommending he attend a treatment programme as he jailed him for eight years.

Mr. Wolffe told Mr. Warner that Customs officers took Tucker, 40, of Mount View Road, Pembroke to hospital where an x-ray determined he had nine suspicious pellets in his rectum.

Tucker later passed the pellets, which were later found by the Government Analyst to contain 6.7 grams of cocaine and 52.9 grams of heroin.

Tucker pleaded guilty to the two counts of importing the drugs and in court yesterday, Assistant Justice Archibald Warner said his guilty plea had saved the court money and time.

Tucker's lawyer, Craig Attridge, submitted that due to the personal circumstances and the age of the defendant that Mr. Warner should consider these in his judgment.

"I want to draw similarities to the mental state of this defendant and what he will do and where it will take him in his choices," Mr. Attridge said. "The similarities between this individual and his addiction are similar to a mental illness."

Earlier that morning, Det. Con. Leroy Mathurin told the court that Tucker was a user of cocaine and used a quarter to a half a gram of heroin a day.

Mr. Attridge also described how his client was 40 years old and had been an electrician for most of his life but that his addiction included him losing his job and straining ties with his family; including his girlfriend, mother and 15-year old son.

Tucker apologised to the people of Bermuda and his family in court yesterday stating that he was sorry for what he had done.

"These actions are not in my nature and I have had time to see things differently since I've been incarcerated," he said. "I give thanks to God for creating in me a clean heart and purifying me and setting my soul free from addiction," he added.

Mr. Warner said he took into consideration his personal circumstances and guilty plea but he said: "I must deter, by sentencing, the importation of drugs into this country."