yesterday after he pleaded guilty to growing cannabis plants between an unknown time and January 17 last year.

He will be sentenced on Thursday morning. His lawyer Mr. Mark Pettingill made an 11th hour bail application late yesterday afternoon in Puisne Judge the Hon. Mrs. Justice Wade's chambers, but it was denied.

Thomas, 40, of White Sands Road, Paget, made it clear that he did not conspire to cultivate the 75 cannabis plants with co-accused, Herbert Alan Williams, 43.

Meantime, Thomas admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply on January 17, 1994, but he denied possessing cocaine on that same date.

He also admitted possessing cannabis on January 17, 1994.

Williams, who owns Williams Trading Ltd. in Pembroke, pleaded not guilty to knowingly allowing his home on Harbour Road to be used to grow the cannabis plants. However he admitted possessing 2.97 grams of the drug.

In his opening statement to the jury, Acting Senior Crown counsel Mr. Khamisi Tokunbo said that the seminal issue in the trial is whether or not Williams knew his home was being used to grown the cannabis plants.

He said that Police officers went to Williams' home around 6 a.m. armed with a search warrant.

They entered and awoke him. He was asleep inside the master bedroom. They found a brown paper bag in the closet which contained Rizzla cigarette papers and a broken commercial cigarette.

Inside the kitchen they found a ziploc bag that contained plant material, more Rizzla cigarette papers and a torn box of matches.

Downstairs in the basement they found an unlocked wooden partition that divided the room into an inner and outer sector.

A locked door separated the inner from the outer section. Through the partition the officers noticed a white light and the sound of machinery running. There was also a strong smell of cannabis emanating from behind the partition.

Williams denied knowing what was behind the partition but he said Thomas worked behind there and had a key.

Not long afterward, Williams told officers he felt sick and was escorted to the bathroom.

Around 8 a.m. Thomas was arrested and brought to Williams' home. He gave Police the key to the partition door and it opened.

When the door was opened they saw a brightly lit interior and an array of cannabis plants. There was an extractor fan, a time switch, and electrical outlets.

Police officers found a second key in Williams' kitchen that also opened the door but he maintained that he knew nothing of the operation.

Larry Vernell Daniels, a maintenance man at Williams Trading company, said he put up the partition for Williams early in the summer of 1993 although he was not able to say exactly when he began the work.

Daniels said he did not know why Williams asked him to put it up but he said the outer partition had a series of racks that were used to hang boat sails.

He said there was only one entrance and access was achieved through a locked door on the right hand side.

The trial continues this morning before the Hon. Mrs. Justice Wade. Mr. Alan Dunch appears on Williams' behalf. Mr. Tokunbo and Mr. Larry Mussenden appear for the Crown.