The jury could be deliberating as early as this afternoon in the drugs trial of businessman Alan Williams.

Lawyers for the defence and Crown and Pusine Judge the Hon. Mrs. Justice Wade, will make their respective submissions this morning before the jury is expected to retire and consider its verdict.

Williams, 43, of Harbour Road, Paget, is charged with knowingly allowing Richard Graham Thomas, 40, to use his basement to cultivate 75 cannabis plants in an operation that used transformers, powerful lights, an extractor fan and a water hose among other items.

Thomas, of White Sands Road, Paget, pleaded guilty to growing the cannabis plants in Williams' home last Monday. He will be sentenced tomorrow.

Crown Counsel Mr. Khamisi Tokunbo has charged that Williams had used Thomas as a fall guy and had provided the equipment and financial backing for the entire operation.

Williams, who owns Williams Trading with his mother and sister, denies the Crown's assertions and maintained that he never saw, smelled or heard anything suspicious when he used his basement.

Two defence witnesses, Dr. Tony Knap and Ms Darcey Hilgenberg -- who also used the basement periodically -- supported Williams' version of events.

But Mr. Tokunbo argued that Williams' account was full of holes, saying he had made it all up to dissociate himself from the cannabis growing operation.

Williams testified that he had left Thomas at his home to do some odd jobs on January 15, 1994.

He had a wheel barrow delivered so that he could fix his windows and do other odd jobs but Thomas did not do them.

"He told me he had spent the day changing the inner basement lock,'' Williams said. "I don't remember having a reaction. I was disappointed that the work had not been done. I was pretty annoyed.'' Mr. Tokunbo said: "You conveniently put (Thomas) at your house to do work on your air conditioning and he conveniently doesn't do it and conveniently he changes the lock only two days before the Police came? "You have created this story as a way to wiggle your way out...you have concocted this and your testimony is like a kitchen full of holes. It is all a lie. You have concocted it to dissociate from knowledge of the lock and the key.'' However, Williams said that he did not have a key for the basement door. He said Det. Con. Keith Senior had invited him to look for the basement door key in a kitchen basket on the morning of the Police raid on January 17, 1994.

He said that once in the kitchen he showed Det. Con. Senior a ceramic container that was full of objects similar to the ones inside the basket and the officer picked out a shiny key. They then walked back to the basement together to try it.

Det. Con. Senior, who was recalled to the stand yesterday, said he never went up to the kitchen with Williams.

"When I left the basement he was with other officers,'' he explained. "I saw the key previously and went to retrieve it. (Williams) stayed downstairs with the other officers.''