A defendant accused of handing a man fake bank notes told a jury he was paying for drugs with what he believed was genuine cash.

But the victim of the alleged scam denied drug pushing, claiming in court that he was being repaid for a loan during a late-night meeting.

The different accounts came from Leonard Leroy Adams, 21, who is accused of possessing and uttering nine counterfeit $50 notes, and Ashton Treadwell Tucker, 28, the man he handed them to.

Adams, of Wellington Lane, St. George’s, denies the charges and the jury is set to consider its verdict today.

The case against Adams opened at Supreme Court this week with Crown Counsel Graveney Bannister telling the jury that in January 2006 Mr. Tucker was owed money by Adams who paid him $500 in ten $50 Bermuda notes — nine of which were fake.

“The matter was reported to the Police by Mr. Treadwell Tucker,” said Mr. Bannister. The Police called in an expert from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, who said the notes were counterfeit.

Giving evidence for the prosecution, Mr. Tucker, of Valley Road, Paget, said he had known Adams since October 2005 and agreed in January 2006 to lend him $500 for the weekend because he had not picked up his pay cheque.

He said he did not hear from Adams for several days but on February 6 Adams called him at 12.30 a.m, asked to meet him behind a disused gas station in Southampton, and handed him $500 in folded $50 notes.

Mr. Tucker said when he got home and examined the money, one of the notes felt different to the others and was a different colour. The next day, he told the court, he saw Adams in Hamilton and asked him about the money, but Adams fled into an office building and locked himself in. Staff called the Police.

On February 9 or 10, he said, he visited the Police Fraud Unit and handed over the notes.

Charles Richardson, defending Adams, put it to Mr. Tucker that the $500 was not a loan at all, but payment for drugs.

“I’m going to suggest to you that the money, that the notes that were handed to you that evening by Leonard Adams, were in exchange for ten ecstasy pills — specifically eight blue diamonds and two pinks,” he said.

Mr. Tucker replied: “No sir. I have no idea what you are talking about,” telling the court he did not sell drugs.

He agreed with Mr. Richardson that he had never gone to the Police about the matter — but denied threatening Adams on the day he fled into the office building and the Police were called.

Earlier in the trial, the jury had heard from Crown witness Detective Constable Paul Ridley of the Fraud Unit who said that eight days after Mr. Tucker handed the notes to the Police, Adams’ then-home in Southampton was searched and he was arrested. Det. Con Ridley also gave evidence that Police searched the Broome Street, Sandy’s, home of Dwayne Reid six days after Adams’ arrest, after a separate report involving counterfeit currency. He said a quantity of $50 notes were seized from Mr. Reid’s home during the search, including eight with identical serial numbers to those before the court. He said the two incidents were connected, and Mr. Reid was “dealt with”.

Giving evidence in his own defence yesterday, Adams said he bought ten ecstasy pills from Mr. Tucker for $500 at the request of Dwayne Reid who gave him the notes in question.

He said he believed they were genuine when he handed them to Mr. Tucker. He also told the jury he had smoked cocaine on the night of the meeting in question and later received treatment for drug addiction.

He told the court he received a call from Mr. Tucker minutes after the money was exchanged, during which he said: “Yo, you gave me jacked-up money. Yo, come up here right now” and he had subsequently called Mr. Reid to say: “You gave me jacked-up money. Look what position you put me in.” He told the jury Mr. Reid’s response was: “That’s your f*****g problem”.

He claimed Mr. Tucker threatened him after seeing him in town the day after, which is why he ran into the building and told staff he was being chased.

In his closing speech to the jury yesterday, Mr. Bannister said: “Drugs and all that...that’s not relevant. He (Adams) possessed these notes, knew that they were fake, and handed them over. Full stop.”

Mr. Richardson said he agreed with Mr. Bannister that the issue about drugs was not central, but that the context was central because his client handed the notes over in a quick drug transaction and had not looked at them enough to know they were fake.

The case continues.