The home of the elderly couple charged with handling more than $1.5 million of cocaine with intent to supply was used as a safe house according to the prosecution.

Summing up the case on Saturday, senior Crown counsel Brian Calhoun said that all the evidence indicated that the Somerset couple -- William and Barbara Roberts -- did everything they could to preserve the drug rather than dispose of it.

And he urged the jury to reach a verdict without both prejudice or sympathy.

"What you are being asked to do is to make a straight call,'' he said.

"On the basis of the total evidence and circumstances you may well feel that, had the police not intercepted those drugs they would have found their way into the bodies of the people of Bermuda.

"They were part of the distribution process. They provided a hiding place -- a safe house -- for the drugs.

"And if the ultimate distributors on the street don't have a safe house then those drugs never get through do they? They are never going to get on the street and into the bodies of young Bermudians.'' Mr. Calhoun highlighted 12 points which he claimed were the key to the case, all of which showed that the Roberts' did everything they could do to preserve the drug. "Let's start with one preposition,'' he said.

"The Roberts have been lying to the Police and or to you about their involvement in the drugs.

"This is a very strong case. We are talking about $1 million of drugs and you, members of the jury, are the conscience of your community.'' But defence counsel Mark Pettingill, representing Mrs. Roberts mocked suggestions that the defendants were involved in the drugs trade. He also questioned the conduct of the Police when they investigated the case and claimed the prosecution's argument was full of holes.

Pointing to the two elderly defendants he asked: "These are the Mom and Pop of cocaine?'' Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller will give her directions to the jury this morning.