A man who imported about $180,000 worth of drugs into Bermuda has been sent to prison for eight years.

Marco Perinchief, 36, of Broom Street, Sandys, had nearly 900 grams of cannabis and nearly 500 grams of cocaine in packages inside his duffel bag at L.F. Wade International Airport, Supreme Court heard yesterday.

At a sentencing hearing, prosecutor Brett Webber said Perinchief — who previously pleaded guilty to two counts of importing drugs — explained the defendant was stopped at the airport in the afternoon of April 1 this year.

Mr. Webber said Perinchief's bag was opened and taped packages were found, and that when asked what was in them, he replied: "He stopped me, so it must be drugs."

The prosecutor said that when the packages were found to contain a white powder, Perinchief said: "It looks like drugs to me."

In an interview with Police two days later, Perinchief admitted he had imported drugs into Bermuda in the past.

He said he had been on a trip to Atlanta to do maintenance work on his mother's house, but met with a contact on his way back, before getting a plane from New York to Bermuda.

Mr. Webber said the cannabis and cocaine each had a street value of about $90,000.

Perinchief's lawyer Kenville Savoury said the defendant had been a substance abuser and had lost his job at a restaurant after getting arrested. Mr. Savoury said Perinchief was under strain from his mother, who constantly demanded more money from him.

Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves sentenced him to eight years in jail for the cocaine importation, and six years for the cannabis, to run concurrently.