cocaine and cannabis was fined just $400 in a bizarre drugs case yesterday.

Dean Willis Pitt could have faced life in prison if found guilty of the original charges.

But his lawyer told The Royal Gazette yesterday that Pitt got into trouble after innocently opening the back of a computer in the Staples warehouse on Parsons Road, finding half a gramme of marijuana inside.

The computers, in two boxes, had been shipped to Bermuda stuffed with drugs.

But Police seized the narcotics at Hamilton docks, removing the cocaine and cannabis and sending the empty computers onto Staples.

Lawyer Mark Pettingill said Pitt was caught in the middle of massive criminal charges after being told to open one of the monitors at work.

Mr. Pettingill said his client was "a patsy'', adding: "It's a nonsense.

It's ridiculous.

"This guy had to go to major expense and the biggest thing he had in his possession was half a gramme of marijuana.

"There was no case from the outset. That man was up there facing life imprisonment.'' Crown Counsel Sandra Bacchus told yesterday's Supreme Court hearing that Pitt, 32, opened the back of one of the computers with a screwdriver.

She said the defendant, of Watlington Lane in Devonshire, was found with the small amount of marijuana after being arrested on April 8.

Mr. Pettingill told the hearing that Pitt ended up in Police custody after "curiosity killed the cat''.

Police have still not caught the drugs smugglers who shipped the $83,750 worth of crack and $196,750 worth of cannabis to Bermuda.

Puisne Judge Norma Wade Miller said of Pitt: "In terms of any high involvement, it is clear that he was not involved.'' Mr. Pettingill added: "Respectfully, this case should never have been in front of Your Ladyship and Mr. Pitt should never have been sitting in the dock in the Supreme Court.

"There simply was never a case against him with regard to any substantial amount of drugs or narcotics.

"He was instructed to unload a particular container in the course of his employment at Staples.

"There were certain rumours going around and Mr. Pitt was a supervisor there at the time. He foolishly took it upon himself to have a look.

"He never removed anything. He never took anything off the premises.'' The lawyer pushed for a $100 fine before Mrs. Justice Wade Miller ordered the $400 penalty.

But there was more confusion at the end of the hearing when Mr. Pitt was briefly held in custody by prison guards.

He had been on $25,000 bail before yesterday's case and guards had to be persuaded by senior court officials to release the defendant.