A Devonshire man was jailed for eight years after being caught with almost $1.5 million of heroin in his underpants.

Takai Tota, 24, pleaded guilty last year to possessing 499.82g diamorphine, better known as heroin, with intent to supply in an incident on February 13, 2013.

During his sentencing yesterday, the Supreme Court heard that Tota and 26-year-old Seanee Smith [see sidebar] left Bermuda on a flight to London on February 3, 2013, and returned to the Island ten days later.

After collecting their luggage from customs, the two were each sent to different customs officers for secondary searches. The officers noticed a large bulge in Tota’s groin area, and that he appeared overly talkative and nervous.

He was taken to a search room and asked if he had any drugs on his person. He responded: “Yes, I have coke in my underwear.”

A subsequent search revealed five blue oval-shaped objects in the groin area of his underwear. While Tota reiterated to officers that the packages contained cocaine, lab tests revealed the contents to be just under 500g of heroin.

The court heard that if the drugs were sold on the streets of Bermuda in 3mg decks, that quantity could fetch as much as $1,470,800.

Tota was subsequently charged, and pleaded guilty to possessing the drug with intent to supply in November, but denied charges of money laundering and conspiring to import the drugs. The charges of money laundering and drug importation were both ordered to lie on file.

Prosecutor Maria Sofianos called for a sentence of between 7.5 and 12 years in prison, but suggested that due to Tota’s early admission of guilt, relative youth and lack of previous convictions a sentence on the lower end of that spectrum would be appropriate.

Defense lawyer Elizabeth Christopher meanwhile stressed that Tota had come clean as soon as asked by customs if he had any drugs and legitimately did not know it was heroin that he was importing.

“He thought it was cocaine,” Ms Christopher said. “I think that the circumstances in which he said that seems to suggest the veracity, that he thought he had cocaine.”

Along with his lack of criminal convictions, Ms Christopher said Tota had been described prior to the incident as a positive role model, and that those who knew him were shocked by his arrest.

Tota himself told the court: “All I can really say is I made a stupid choice. I shouldn’t have done it and I’m sorry for making such a dumb mistake.”

Delivering his sentence, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves noted a social inquiry report, in which Tota was quoted as saying: “I was tired of being broke. I wanted to help my aunt out. The struggle was getting hard at home and I was getting tired of not being able to assist.”

Mr Justice Greaves said that while he fully believed Tota was “tired of being broke”, he expressed doubt he was only attempting to help his family, noting that the defendant had been offered a full time job with an airline just before the incident.

“This was not just a matter of helping out auntie. This is you succumbing to your own selfish needs,” he said. “I’m not saying these things to condemn you or pull you down. I use them to illustrate that which is mankind. No matter how much you have got, you are never satisfied. It’s never enough.”

The judge sentenced Tota to eight years in prison with time already served taken into account, adding: “I think there’s still hope for you. You made a stupid mistake. You were man enough to admit it. I believe your apology was sincere, and I doubt very much that you will repeat this offence again.”