A jury has cleared an airport worker of plotting to import $2.2 million worth of heroin and cannabis.

Prosecutors had alleged that Bermuda Aviation Services (BAS) worker Macai Bean, 25, picked up a bag full of drugs that dropped out of the hold of a Delta flight from Boston.

Another BAS employee was alleged to have kicked the blue duffel bag towards Mr. Bean who was emptying the sewage off the plane into a sanitation truck.

According to the case for the Crown, he put the bag in the truck and drove off with it. A search was launched after security guard Iris Young reported seeing the suspicious activity on the morning of September 1, 2008.

She said the same worker later got on the plane to clear the trash, and she recognised him by his gold-rimmed sunglasses and New York Yankees baseball hat.

Two hours later, the bag was found by a customs officer in a ditch near the waste dump at the airport. It contained 18 kilograms of cannabis and half a kilo of heroin, with a total street value of $2.28 million.

Mr. Bean, of Main Road, Sandys, was arrested later that day. He denied conspiring with others to import heroin and cannabis and possessing it with intent to supply.

During a Police interview and in his evidence in the case, he admitted he was on trash and sanitation duties and drove the truck in question that day.

He also admitted that sunglasses and a New York Yankees baseball cap seized from his work locker and identified by Ms Young belonged to him. However, he denied having any knowledge of the drugs or the duffel bag, and said it was a case of mistaken identity and he was not the man who put it in the truck.

He also pointed out that others working at the airport wear similar clothes and are allowed to drive the truck.

Mr. Bean also admitted that $15,000 in cash found in one of his boots under his bed during the Police investigation was his. However, he insisted that the cash was his life savings and nothing to do with payment for handling drugs.

The jury cleared him by a unanimous verdict yesterday afternoon after deliberating for just over two hours. He had been on bail throughout the case. Responding to the verdict, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves told him: "Mister accused man, this jury say you are not guilty so you are free to go." Mr. Bean said as he left court: "I'm just thankful, that's all."

The trial heard that two other BAS workers working on the day in question were arrested during the investigation and are no longer employed by BAS. According to defence lawyer Charles Richardson, one of them was arrested trying to leave the Island the day after the incident. However, The Royal Gazette understands that Mr. Bean was the only person ever charged. He lost his job as a result of the allegations.

Invited to comment on the outcome of the case, Aaron Adderley, general manager at LF Wade International Airport said: "I'm happy with the level of vigilance shown by the Safeguard Security Group officer, commissioned by the airline to provide airside security.

"There are a multitude of agencies at the airport that must work holistically to guard against criminal activity and in this instance, while the alertness was there and the officer took the appropriate action for which she should be commended, to this point unfortunately, there was not enough to convict whoever was responsible for the illicit act."