bars after trying to bring nearly $200,000 worth of cannabis into the Island.

Terry Eugene Darrell, 43, a carpenter from Coral Acres Drive, Southampton, was found guilty of importing and possessing a controlled drug after a five day Supreme Court trial last month.

And on Friday Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons sentenced Darrell to six-and-a-half years in prison for each of the two offences. The sentences are to run concurrently.

Earlier prosecutor Sandra Bacchus had appealed for a stiffer sentence. She referred the judge to two other cases in which defendants had received custodial sentences of six and seven years for similar offences, but argued that Darrell should serve even longer because of a lack of mitigating circumstances.

But defence lawyer Mark Pettingill suggested that, at most, his client had simply "turned a blind eye'' when he discovered that a crate he had picked up from the docks contained drugs.

"Mr. Darrell's plea of innocence is maintained and nothing has altered in that regard,'' he said.

"He stands by the fact that he is innocent of these charges. The facts of this case, in my mind, could cause this court to consider that, at the highest, what the jury concluded was that Mr. Darrell turned a blind eye to what transpired to be a case of illegal importation.

"The facts indicate that there's nothing that indicates that he was involved in dealing with drugs in terms of selling it or bagging it up.

"This man is some 43 years of age and has never been in prison. As a master carpenter, at the time of his arrest he was extremely busy and in demand for his expertise.

"He has never been convicted of a criminal offence and at this stage in his life, he's extremely skilled in his trade and I respectfully ask that all of these things be taken into account with regard to sentencing.'' Before sentence was passed, Puisne Judge Simmons warned Darrell that "sentence is required to be a long one because of society's abhorrence of the crime''.

"Lives are being ruined, families torn apart and people are fighting in the streets because of drugs on our small island,'' she said.

"I take into account your age and previous good character and hope that you will put your skills to good use while you are in prison.'' Darrell, who has been in custody since his arrest in August 1998, remained emotionless as the sentence was read out.

During last month's trial, in which Darrell was found guilty by a majority ten-to-one verdict, the jury heard how Darrell brought a crate into the Island while moving his business from Florida to Bermuda.

But he had no invoice to pick the crate up from the docks and so concocted a fax from a non-existent company saying the crate contained used items. This enabled him to pick up the crate simply by paying a deposit.

But what Darrell did not know was that Customs officers had already been tipped off that the base of the crate contained drugs. When Police raided the carpenter's home shortly after he had picked up the consignment they found the crate slung in a lumber bin.