An airport worker accused of smuggling more than $2 million worth of drugs off a plane asked to swap duties so he would be servicing flights that day, Supreme Court heard yesterday.

According to prosecutors, Macai Bean drove a sanitation truck up to the Delta flight that came in from Boston at 11.40 a.m on September 1. A bag dropped out of the aircraft hold and landed by another airport employee who kicked it towards Bean.

He is alleged to have picked it up, carried it to the truck and driven off. Two hours later, the bag was found near the area where human waste is disposed of at the airport. It contained 18 kilograms of cannabis and half a kilo of heroin, with a total street value of $2.28 million.

Yesterday the trial heard from Nathaniel Ray, one of Bean's work colleagues at Bermuda Aviation Services (BAS). He said that the day before the incident, Bean asked to take his shift working on sanitation and garbage collection.

Mr. Ray agreed and ended up taking baggage off the conveyor belt instead that day. He described how he went upstairs after completing that task and found Bean looking out of a window. About ten minutes later, the Police came and arrested him.

Bean, 25, of Sandys, denies conspiring with others to import heroin and cannabis and possessing it with intent to supply.

BAS ramp manager Raymond Lawrence also told the jury that Bean was working on sanitation and garbage collection that day.

Cross-examining Mr. Lawrence, defence lawyer Charles Richardson asked if he was aware that another BAS worker named Kori Hinds was also arrested in connection with the incident. Mr. Lawrence was not aware.

Senior Customs Officer Dawnette Bell was also quizzed over this by Mr. Richardson. She said she knew two people one of whom was Bean were arrested, but could not say who the other was.

Ms Bell told the court she instructed her team to launch a search at the airport that day. Customs Officer Michael Souza told the jury he was involved in that search, which came about because a bag had gone missing.

He found the bag at the centre of the case at around 1.20 p.m. in a ditch in a wooded area at the airport, near where the human waste from the planes is dumped.

Mr. Souza said he pulled the bag out of the ditch, describing it as heavy and having an orange tag attached. He said it had no identifying tags that are usually found on checked luggage.

When he unzipped the bag, he found several packages wrapped in bedsheets. Mr. Sousa radioed his supervisor Ms Bell and she arrived with another Customs Officer and the Police, the court heard.

Detective Constable Rickson Wiltshire, of the narcotics unit, told the jury the packages were found to contain plant-like material and pellets. He displayed the bag and its contents to the jury warning that the smell from the plant material could be strong.

Det Con Wiltshire explained that he'd also shown the bag and contents to Bean after he'd been arrested and taken to Southside Police Station. Bean denied any knowledge of them.

The case continues.