A Supreme Court jury heard yesterday of the method used by a former Government analyst to loosen cocaine in the shafts of imported golf clubs.

The information was delivered during the fourth day of the drug trial of Richard Ricardo Steede, 39, of 12 Kitty's Drive, Hamilton Parish and Lang Onley, 40, of 12 Harvest Lane, Hamilton Parish.

Steede and Onley are charged with conspiring to import more than a pound of cocaine, possessing cocaine with intent to supply, possessing 13 grammes of cannabis and handling the same drug with a street value of $138,000.

Legal arguments in the absence of the jury occupied the entire morning session.

In the afternoon, Shirley Bayne -- the former Government analyst -- told the court once the grips of the golf clubs were removed by golfing expert Edwin Jackson she set about loosening the white power inside the shafts individually.

Mrs. Bayne said she poured methanol into the shafts to loosen the hard white powdery substance. All this was done on April 7 last year when 12 clubs were dealt with in the presence of the narcotics officers, she said. Mrs. Bayne said she did tests for a controlled drug cocaine.

Mrs. Bayne said the golf clubs were placed in a black plastic bag and were sealed. This bag she said was only opened when the set of clubs was fully examined.

"All of the washings from the shafts tested positive for cocaine,'' said Mrs.

Bayne.

She conceded she did not take any notes on the condition of the golf clubs.

But she said nine of the golf clubs had plastic covering the shafts, and ten of the 12 heads were covered with bubble wrap. One club was covered with cloth-like material, she added.

Mrs. Bayne said she made no notes of the condition of the grip ends and the golf clubs were returned to Det. Con. Alex Severin.

Defence lawyer Richard Hector, who is representing Steede, then cross-examined Mrs. Bayne.

He asked Mrs. Bayne whether she noticed that "some white substance'' had spilt onto the floor as they extracted it from the shafts.

She said any powder which was spilt was localised by her and she cleaned it up with some tissue paper which she sealed in a bag and discarded in the garbage.

She noted that Det. Sgt. Dennis Gordon, Det. Con Eric Woods, Det. Con. Severin were all present during the examination.

Mrs. Bayne was then asked if she put her signature on the package containing the green-and-tan golf bag. She told Mr. Hector she could only speak for her signature on the label of the package. The label was marked 1720 hrs April 7, but there was no marking on the red tape securing the plastic bag holding the golf bag.

Mr. Hector then said the plastic bag was an ordinary one and "if we are lucky it could be a Hefty''.

He asked if there was any possibility of contamination of the outer lip of the shaft and the area where it joined the grip.

"I do not believe them to be contaminated. I received them sealed,'' said Mrs. Bayne.

Mr. Hector then asked Mrs. Bayne where she had placed the methanol used to soften the powder substance.

She said she placed it in separate vials.

But she admitted that she could not determine the amount of cocaine present.

Lawyer Richard Horseman, who is representing Onley in the absence of lawyer Mark Pettingill, asked Mrs. Bayne whether Mr. Jackson's workshop was the ideal place to remove the powder.

"It is not unusual to remove drugs in such an environment because quite often there is no-where else to do it,'' Mrs. Bayne responded.

Mr. Horseman questioned the presence of white powdery substance near shoes in the workshop.

"Are you saying people trekked in and out of workshop through the cocaine?'' asked Mr. Horseman.

"Our work was restricted to the workshop,'' said Mrs. Bayne.

She said the presence of powder on the workbench suggested it was related to the area being used for weighing the recovered powdery substance.

The jury also heard a statement from Frederick Dennis Kelly, an assistant caddie master of the Mid-Ocean Club.

Mr. Kelley told Police he saw Onley getting on to the back of a motorcycle on March 31 at the Mid-Ocean Club property. He said it appeared as though Onley was expecting the clubs. He collected them and left in a hurry, Mr. Kelly noted.

The case continues today before Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller. Crown counsel Peter Eccles is prosecuting.