Delays in the Department of Public Prosecutions meant it took five years for a man accused of gun and drug importation to be extradited from the US, a Policeman told Supreme Court yesterday.

Detective Sergeant Antoine Fox was being quizzed over the eventual arrest and detention of David Brangman who is allegedly responsible for importing a semi-automatic handgun loaded with eight bullets and ten pounds of cannabis hidden in a TV set in 2002.

Brangman, 45, of Devonshire, holds dual US and Bermudian citizenship. He was extradited from the US in December 2007 to face the charges and went on trial on Monday. He maintains his innocence.

The trial has heard the prosecution allege that Brangman asked his ex-girlfriend Angela Simmons, 45, to bring the TV set back from New York for him when she met him during a Christmas shopping trip in December 2002.

Prosecutor Brett Webber has told the jury that Ms Simmons and the friend she was visiting in the US arranged for the TV to be shipped to Bermuda along with some children's bicycles Ms Simmons purchased on her trip.

The gun and drugs were detected inside the TV by customs officials when it was x-rayed upon arrival in Bermuda. Fingerprints on the packaging allegedly matched Brangman's. Mr. Webber further alleged that Brangman was responsible for coordinating the payment of duty on the item when it arrived on the Island.

In her evidence Ms Simmons, an administrative assistant with the Mirrors youth programme, insisted that she only asked her friend to send her bicycles to the Island by courier, not Brangman's TV set.

The court heard yesterday from Det. Sgt. Fox, the officer in charge of the investigation. He said that after the gun and drugs were found, the TV set was repackaged and returned to parcel service UPS to await collection.

A covert surveillance operation was set up, and Ms Simmons was watched by the Police as she picked up the TV set and bicycles from the company's office in Park Road, Hamilton, on the afternoon of December 20 2002.

She was arrested after she'd left in her car, dropped the bicycles at her home in Alexandra Road, Devonshire, then driven off again with the TV still in the car. According to Det. Sgt. Fox, after her arrest: "Ms Simmons informed me the TV belonged to Mr. Brangman. She said they'd been friends for a little while."

Ms Simmons' home was searched after she was arrested, and the officer explained that "items" were seized. She participated in Police interviews before being released on bail.

Her friend in New Jersey, Jeduntee Minors, was also interviewed by Det. Sgt. Fox who travelled there in December 2002 to do so.

Det. Sgt. Fox also journeyed to Miami, Florida, in December 2007 where he met with officers from the US Marshals office, who had Brangman in custody. He and a US Marshal escorted Brangman back to Bermuda on a flight then arrested him on arrival on suspicion of importing a controlled drug and a firearm.

Quizzed by defence lawyer Michael Scott over the five-year delay in extraditing Brangman from the US, Det. Sgt. Fox replied: "I was made aware that staff changes at the DPP (Department of Public Prosecutions) resulted in the file being passed along from one person to another.

"Several members of the DPP staff who've now left had this file, and it was passed along, and I think that results in the delay."

The officer said everything relating to the case was sent to the office of the DPP in early 2003 and "we kept being told 'it was being worked on', 'it was being worked on'."

Det. Sgt. Fox went on to tell the court how he'd been instructed that he could not interview Brangman. This was because it was necessary for a warrant to be sworn for his arrest, and for Brangman to be charged in his absence, in order for the US to extradite him. Det. Sgt. Fox explained that Bermuda law prevents the Police from interviewing someone once they've been charged with an offence.

Quizzing the officer further over the delay in bringing Brangman to Bermuda to face the accusations, Crown counsel Mr. Webber asked: "Prior to 2007 you were aware of the extensive extradition proceedings that were going on? You're aware of the nature of these proceedings with another country, and you're aware that they are lengthy?"–The detective said he was.

The case continues.