cannabis worth $12 million into Bermuda.

Karen Tuzo burst into tears at the Supreme Court seconds after her husband was found guilty of importation and possession of the cannabis with intent to supply.

The unanimous verdict against Orion Tuzo came in at 3.20 p.m. yesterday after the eight-woman, four-man Supreme Court jury had deliberated for three hours and 38 minutes.

Tuzo, who maintained his innocence throughout the trial, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Tuesday.

Karen Tuzo walked out of the courtroom after being found not guilty with an 11-1 majority on both charges.

The Tuzos, of Boundary Lane, St. George's had both denied importation and possession of $12 million worth of cannabis with intent to supply on March 22 last year.

During the nine-day trial, the court heard that a shipment of fruit juice and syrup from Jamaica was impounded by Customs officers, suspicious because they were destined for Astwood Dickinson, a jewellers.

Customs X-rayed some of the tins and found cannabis inside. Eventually more than 1,400 tins were opened by Police and 603 contained cannabis. In total it weighed 500 pounds.

The shipment was impounded on March 22, last year, and the same evening Police and Customs obtained a search warrant and went to the Tuzos' home.

The court was told that during the search a piece of paper with three numbers on it was found in Orion Tuzo's trousers. One of the numbers matched the airline bill for the shipment.

When officers searched a cavity above the kitchen ceiling, they also found more than $40,000 inside a tin. All the money was in US bills.

It was the second trial the Tuzo's had faced after the first was declared a mistrial when it was discovered two of the jurors had previous drugs convictions.

Yesterday, Puisne Judge the Hon. Mr. Justice Ground ordered that Orion Tuzo be remanded in custody until Tuesday afternoon when he will be sentenced.