An American drugs mule who arrived on the Island with eight pounds of cannabis in his suitcase has been jailed for seven years.

Ronald Henry Romanowicz, 31, from Virginia, was stopped by Customs officials at Bermuda International Airport on November 11 last year after flying in from Newark.

A subsequent search found seven pounds of cannabis and one pound of cannabis resin stitched inside the lining of the American's suitcase.

During a three-day trial earlier this month, Romanowicz protested his innocence, arguing he had been persuaded to take a holiday on the Island by his fiancee and had then been lent the suitcase by a friend. His fiancee packed the suitcase for him before he left.

Customs officers, under cross-examination, agreed Romanowicz seemed genuinely surprised when the stash, consisting of 11 plastic packages with a street value of $210,000, was presented to him.

"I'm glad it's not cocaine,'' Romanowicz said when the packages were pulled from the lining of the case.

But the jury dismissed his version of events, agreeing with Crown counsel Peter Eccles that Romanawicz had known all along that he had been carrying drugs and had concocted his explanation after being found out.

Romanowicz was eventually convicted on four counts of handling and possessing cannabis with intent to supply by a nine to three majority verdict after a mammoth four-and-a-half hour debate.

On Friday, Mr. Eccles, advising Chief Justice Austin Ward that deterrents had to be set regardless of the "vulnerable, sympathetic or pathetic'' nature of the mule, pushed for a prison sentence of between six and eight years.

But defence attorney Mark Pettingill urged that, although his client may have "turned a blind eye'', his involvement "is not as severe as the person who has plotted a sophisticated policy for personal gain''.

During Friday's sentencing session the softly spoken Romanowicz, who was convicted of a similar offence in the US five years ago, kept up his innocent countenance, occasionally joking and smiling with his jailers.

But when he spoke to the Chief Justice his voice cracked and he stumbled over his words.

`Drugs mule' jailed for seven years Romanowicz said: "I am deeply sorry for what I have put Bermuda, this court and indeed my parents through.

"I wish I had been more aware and that I had looked into the suitcase. I guess I am a little too naive to think that things like this could happen. As I look back -- if I could bring that day back -- I wish I had looked at the suitcase more carefully.

"I am deeply sorry that I have put this court through such a financial and time consuming ordeal. All I can ask for Your Lordship is for your compassion and mercy.'' Following the sentence Mr. Pettingill said he had not been surprised by the verdict, arguing that the burden of proof, when switched onto a defendant arguing that they are ignorant of carrying drugs, was "very high''.

He also said most people in Bermuda were rightly intolerant of drugs importers, although he reasoned that most juries had an open mind during trials.

"The fact that it was only a nine to three majority after four-and-a-half hours shows that,'' he said.

Mr. Pettingill also issued a warning to anyone who might be conned into carrying packages for other people.

"Let's face it, the person who is selling drugs and making a profit from it isn't going to be carrying seven pounds of cannabis on them -- they're not going to take the risk,'' he said.

"The people we see coming into this country with drugs are impoverished, down-and-outs and in the ghetto and they need the money.

"People need to be diligent when it comes to doing favours for other people.

But it's not enough to say `I looked the other way' -- that's no defence. My client now has a firm understanding of what our law is and he feels very reflective.'' Imprisoned for seven years: Ronald Henry Romanowicz Graphic file name: AMERIC DRUGS DGS