A mother who claims she imported more than $500,000 of cannabis in a bid to stop her daughter being taken for adoption has been jailed for six years.

Sherica Trott, whose child is six, was caught bringing drugs weighing more than ten kilograms in on a flight from New York last February 1.

Crown counsel Robert Welling told Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves that Trott, 25, was detained by officials in the arrivals area at the airport.

Her luggage was searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act. A total of eight packages containing cannabis were found in one of her cases, hidden amid an air mattress, bedsheets and some children's plastic water slides.

Trott admitted: "It's weed" and when quizzed further about the discovery, said: "It smells nice. I'm probably going to jail. What do you want me to say?"

Mr. Welling explained that Trott, who worked as a junior mason at the time, was arrested. In a Police interview she stated that Child and Family Services were going to put her daughter up for adoption because her living conditions weren't fit.

Trott told the Police a Bermudian male who she did not identify approached her and asked her if she wanted to make some money by bringing in six to seven pounds of weed for a payment of $6,000.

She decided to do so because of her daughter.

She said he gave her $4,000 and she flew to New York and booked into a hotel, where she met a local contact nicknamed "Greg" who gave her the drugs packaged in the sheets, mattress and slides.

Mr. Welling said Trott told investigators after her arrest that she'd been surprised by the amount of cannabis she'd been carrying, when she expected it to be just six or seven pounds (two to three kilograms.)

On January 5 this year she pleaded guilty to importing the drug, with prosecutors asking for a further charge of possession with intent to supply to lie on file.

Mr. Welling said the cannabis had a street value ranging from $137,000 to $518,120, depending on how it was to be packaged and sold.

Trott has no previous convictions apart from what Mr. Welling described as a minor unrelated matter in 2001. He asked the judge to jail her for eight to ten years.

Defence lawyer Charles Richardson asked for a lesser sentence of five to seven years, asking the judge to consider factors including the early guilty plea and Trott's young age.

Mr. Richardson further urged: "I would like the court to give some weight to the desperate circumstances which led her to commit this offence."

Describing Trott as "pitiable" and "easily misled," Mr. Richardson also pointed out a comment she made to court officials writing a report on her: "I did this to make things better and all I've done is make it much worse."

Trott apologised for her actions, telling the court on Friday she "really wanted money" to stop her child being taken. However, Mr. Justice Greaves expressed concern over what he described as her "arrogant statement" after her arrest that the cannabis "smells nice." He said this led him to question whether her motivation was anything to do with her child.

He eventually meted out the six-year term, explaining he'd considered factors including Trott's early admission of guilt, which saved the time and cost of a trial.

The months she's spent in custody since her guilty plea will be taken into account.