attorney levelled charges of sexual impropriety at a Police officer during an accountant's drugs trial in Supreme Court.

Defence lawyer Mr. Archie Warner made the allegations during the third day of Jerry Alexander Ming's trial.

Ming, 29, of Green Acres, Devonshire, is charged with importing $35,000 worth of cocaine in a General Electric stove on February 2, 1994.

He is also charged with handling the drug with intent to supply.

Det. Con. Clinard Burgess became rattled in the witness box after Mr. Warner alleged he and another officer dated the accused's wife and another female friend on several occasions.

But Det. Con. Burgess said the allegations "were absolutely absurd'', and denied ever socialising or buying drinks for Ming's wife at anytime, although he admitted that he knew her.

Despite objections from Crown Counsel Mr. Philip Storr that Det. Con. Burgess' personal life was irrelevant, Mr. Warner said his line of questioning was important.

"The basis of the prosecution's case rests on the belief that my client showed guilt because he ran from Police.

"We are saying that my client's reaction was not because he had any guilty knowledge but was a result of the illicit associating between his wife and other narcotics officers.

"He neither knew, suspected or had reason to suspect that there were drugs in the package he was carrying.'' However, a senior Immigration officer testified that Ming flew to the United States on January 22, and arrived back in Bermuda on January 27.

Customs officers found the drugs inside the stove's oven around 2.20 p.m. on February 2, after a container that had come to Bermuda on board the Oleander the previous Sunday, was unloaded.

Colin Smith, a member of the Customs contraband enforcement team, said they decided to search the box containing the stove because they have a policy of checking appliances since drug smugglers often use them to bring contraband into Bermuda.

Police were notified after the drugs were found inside a ziploc bag and they substituted the drugs package for a dummy package and followed the delivery truck to Ming's Devonshire apartment.

They kept a constant watch on the apartment until Ming came home with his wife and child that evening around 5:30 p.m.

Fifteen minutes later, Police saw Ming leave the apartment on a motorcycle, and chased him.

He managed to escape along a dirt path near St. Brendan's Hospital.

Later Police and Customs officers went back to the site and searched the area finding the dummy package in some bushes.

Both Det. Con. Gift and Det. Con. Burgess were unable to explain how they made exactly the same error in their statement's which recorded that Ming arrived home at 5:10 p.m.

Both officers testified that Ming came home at 5:30.

Responding to Mr. Warner's questions about why his statement has Ming arriving home at 5:10 p.m., Det. Con. Gift said: "That's an error. It's incorrect it should have read 5:30 p.m.'' The case continues today before Puisne Judge, the Hon. Mrs. Justice Wade.