Police notes of an interview with a woman accused of conspiring to import $150,000 of cocaine are inaccurate and misleading, a Supreme Court jury heard yesterday.

And Police were criticised for holding lengthy interviews with Paula Madill and another suspect before allowing the accused access to legal counsel.

Defence lawyer Mark Pettingill accused Police of claiming to carry out a search of premises as a "convenient'' excuse for interrogating the Canadian suspects before they got to a Police station -- where they would be told they had the right to a lawyer.

Although Police said they were carrying out a search at the Mezarine by the Sea guest house in Pembroke on June 28 last year, Mr. Pettingill pointed out that, according to Police notes, the search did not begin until one hour and 16 minutes after they started questioning Madill and William Wayne Maximchuk.

Madill, 34, of Calgary, Alberta, denies conspiring with Maximchuk to import the drugs on June 28 last year. Maximchuk, 44, also of Calgary, pleaded guilty to importing the cocaine, which he had swallowed, last month and was jailed for seven and a half years.

Det. Con. Trevor Knight of the narcotics division, admitted the Police notes should have recorded that Madill was not present during all of the questioning of Maximchuk.

He agreed the notes gave the impression Madill was present throughout, but he insisted the transcript was "true and accurate''.

He said he was not concerned that Madill had been treated unfairly because she had signed the notes as being accurate.

And he rejected a suggestion from Mr. Pettingill that Madill only signed them because she was told to do so by him.

Referring to the questioning of his client before the physical search of the guest house began, Mr. Pettingill said: "You call it a search when you are asking questions and not doing a search? "I'm going to suggest to you that its very convenient to call it a search when you're doing a question and answer.'' Det. Con. Knight rejected it, saying the search was deemed to have begun as soon as officers entered the premises with a search warrant.

The trial before Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons - which was delayed for two days due to legal arguments between Mr. Pettingill and Crown counsel Larry Mussenden - continues on Monday.