A construction worker was cleared by a jury yesterday of plotting to import cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis.

Derek Burchall, 43, was accused of conspiring with Ivan Albouy, 40, in a case dating back to 2006.

However, his name was cleared by the jury by unanimous agreement after just two hours of deliberations yesterday.

The news prompted scenes of emotion and jubilation from his family and friends.

Mr. Albouy was caught with almost $350,000 worth of drugs at Newark Airport on July 25, 2007, as he travelled home to Bermuda via the US.

The 40-year-old father of two pleaded guilty to conspiring to import the narcotics and was jailed for five years in late 2007. He was released last year, and is now on parole.

Mr. Albouy agreed to help the authorities once he had been released from prison. He ended up as the key Crown witness in the case against Mr. Burchall who denied any role in the importation plot.

Mr. Albouy told the jury during the course of a five-day Supreme Court trial that Mr. Burchall paid him to do numerous drug runs during 2006 and 2007. He alleged Mr. Burchall also funded his tickets to Jamaica, plus his accommodation and spending money.

He said he picked up the drugs from a man in Jamaica known by the nickname "Barker" before bringing them back into Bermuda in his suitcases.

Mr. Albouy claimed Mr. Burchall would then pay him tens of thousands in cash. He estimated that he did the drugs run around seven times, making a profit of between $60,000 and $70,000 over the course of 2006 and 2007.

After he was caught and arrested in the US, Mr. Albouy was escorted home by US law enforcement officials. Bermuda Police then set up a surveillance operation at his apartment in Pembroke to catch whoever arrived to pick up the drugs during a "controlled delivery" involving suitcases now empty of drugs.

However, undercover detectives told the court they were not in a position to see or hear the person who arrived to pick up the cases.

What the jury was not told was that the Police did not manage to arrest the person as they left either. Mr. Burchall insisted to the jury that the person in question was not him.

Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves indicated to prosecutor Nicole Smith that he was troubled by the fact that the failure of the Police to catch the person who arrived at Mr. Albouy's apartment was not made clear to the jury.

"You can't fool people!" he commented, shortly after sending the jury to deliberate on their verdicts yesterday.

Mr. Burchall was arrested by the Police within days of the sting operation on July 26, 2007 and later released on bail. However, the three-year delay in bringing the case against him to court was not explained to the jury. That delay was the subject of complaints from defence lawyer Rick Woolridge before the trial began.

Ms Smith explained Mr. Albouy did not wish to give a Police interview and statement until after he had been released from prison. He eventually did so in September 2009 and Mr. Burchall was subsequently arraigned on conspiracy charges.

Both Ms Smith and defence lawyer Rick Woolridge told the jury that the case hinged on whether they believed Mr. Albouy's account of events or not.

Mr. Burchall, from Sandys, denied any involvement in the alleged drug plot.

Defence lawyer Mr. Woolridge claimed Mr. Albouy made him a scapegoat in the hope of reducing his own prison time — although Mr. Justice Greaves said there was nothing to suggest that was the case.

When he gave evidence in his own defence, Mr. Burchall told the jury the only crime he was guilty of was occasionally buying cannabis from Mr. Albouy who used to cut his hair at his barbershop on Court Street.

Asked why Mr. Albouy would call his name if he's an innocent man, Mr. Burchall, who is around five-foot-four-inches tall replied: "Perhaps I'm probably the smallest guy in the shop. That's the only reason I can think why."

After the jury panel of five men and seven women delivered the not guilty verdicts yesterday, Mr. Burchall, who has a common-law wife and teenage stepdaughter, celebrated with well-wishers.

Mr. Woolridge said: "It's been three long years for my client. The jury has spoken and in my view, justice has been served.

"There's no more evidence today than there was three years ago and there's nothing that could justify this inordinate delay and the toll that it's taken on this family."