A Police officer admitted hitting a suspect in a defensive "slap" manoeuvre when he arrested him in a drugs and guns case.

However, Detective Constable Shannon Swan denied allegations from a defence lawyer that he and a colleague attacked Kershun Dublin. He stated that he was alone and felt threatened due to Dublin acting in a "very aggressive" manner.

Dublin, 25, was arrested along with fellow Pembroke residents Justin Calderon, 25, and Arthur Dill, 45, during a Police investigation mounted after four guns, 164 bullets and $25,000 worth of cannabis were found in a courier box at the airport last April.

They deny conspiring to possess the firearms and ammunition, and conspiring to import the drugs.

The Supreme Court jury hearing their trial has heard from prosecution witnesses how Police officers decided to carry out a "controlled delivery" of the parcel. They removed the illegal items from it and put it back into the DHL circulation to see who picked it up.

Prosecutor Robert Welling has alleged that ten days later, each of the three defendants handled the box after it was picked up from the DHL office. Dill admitted to Police after his arrest that he picked up the box from the office near Belco in Serpentine Road, Pembroke, after being offered the job as a "hustle" for Dublin who he knew by the nickname Smalls.

A friend of Dublin's, Tianna Paiva, told the court earlier this week that she assisted Dublin to move the box by transporting it in her car to Crane Lane, Pembroke, where some men removed it and carried it up the hill.

According to prosecutor Mr. Welling, the box ended up being "spirited away" from Ms Paiva's car to a shed in Mission Lane, Pembroke, adjacent to Calderon's home address. He alleges that it was handled at this point by three or four men including Calderon and Dublin whose palm prints were later found on the box, under the outer wrappings.

Police arrived on the scene soon after the box was taken away, and Calderon and Dill were arrested in the neighbourhood shortly afterwards. Dublin was arrested when Police raided his grandparents' home in St. Monica's Road more than two months later, on July 13 2008.

According to Det. Con. Swan, the Police had been searching for Dublin for the previous two months and had executed "numerous" search warrants although this was the first time they'd searched his grandparents' house. He described how he was alone, with other officers searching the main house, when he found Dublin in a garage, sitting on a chair. He said Dublin's uncle was asleep on the floor and there were also knives and screwdrivers on the floor. Det. Con. Swan said he banged on the door and shouted "Police, search warrant" and then opened the door.

"With the lighting that I had I could make out the defendant, Mr. Dublin, rising quickly from his chair. He appeared to reach for an item in front of him," he told the jury. Quizzed by the prosecutor over this, the witness said he interpreted this action as being "very aggressive" although he did not know what the item was that Dublin reached for.

"Based on information received, I had reason to be concerned... it happened so fast. The defendant came towards me very fast. He was trying to get through me and out the door," he explained. Later, he continued: "I took up one of the stances that I was taught in training school and performed one of the defence tactics. It's given the name of a "heel palm slap".

Demonstrating this manoeuvre, the officer, who has ten years on the job, told the jury: "A heel palm slap is one of the defences you use when being attacked."

The detective said his slap made contact with the right side of Dublin's face and a struggle ensued, during which he got control over Dublin and placed handcuffs on him while he was on the ground, while yelling out for help from other officers.

He also told the court that in response to the caution given when he was being arrested, Dublin gave an account of the events in question. He claimed he had helped a man named "Vello" an apparent nickname for defendant Arthur Dill to pick up the container from DHL and put it in Tianna's car, with Vello telling him to meet him outside "Treddy's house". The jury has heard that a man named Treadwell Gibbons was present on May 8 during the Police operation that led to Dill's and Calderon's arrests.

According to Det. Con. Swan, Dublin told him: "I went to Treddy's house and I threw the container over the speed bumps hill by Treddy's house and I left."

However, Dublin's lawyer, Charles Richardson, claimed that Det. Con. Swan was not alone in the garage at the time of Dublin's arrest. He suggested that he was actually with Detective Chief Inspector Steven Lightbourne who hit Dublin with a "ringing slap" to the head or face as soon as he saw him rising from his chair.

Mr. Richardson alleged that Det. Con. Swan then hit Dublin with the defensive "heel palm slap" manoeuvre before he or another officer either DCI Lightbourne or Det. Con. Walter Jackson punched him in the chest.

Det. Con. Swan denied this account of events. He agreed that a subsequent Police interview with Dublin was terminated prematurely because Dublin was complaining about a problem with his ear.

However, when Mr. Richardson suggested that the ear injury was caused by him hitting the defendant, Det. Con. Swan replied: "I have no idea if it was caused by me".

Mr. Richardson claimed that Dublin's response to his arrest, in which he referred to helping throw the container, was less than a minute after he'd been slapped by officer Swan and that he was "very very dazed". Mr. Richardson also claimed that Dublin never said anything about helping throw the container near any speed bumps.

Det. Con. Swan insisted that Dublin did not appear to be dazed, and had uttered those words.

The case continues.