A mother of two who was caught trying to smuggle $36,000 worth of drugs into Bermuda, including crack cocaine, has told Magistrates’ Court she had been “going through hard times”.

Marketa Raynor, 31, of Underhill Lane, Pembroke, heard from Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo that she could expect a prison sentence for the offence.

Apologising to the court, Raynor said: “Honestly, I knew I was going to get some jail time — I’m asking for time to get my affairs in order.”

She was stopped by Customs officers at LF Wade International Airport on December 17, 2013 after a drug-sniffing dog showed interest in her luggage, the court heard.

Prosecutor Loxly Ricketts said Raynor admitted she had been in contact with drugs, but denied bringing any back to the Island.

However, a swab of her bags tested positive for cocaine.

According to the Crown, she told police after she was arrested: “I can’t have a drug conviction on my record. I didn’t swallow anything; I stuffed it.”

A cylindrical package was removed from her person and, at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Raynor admitted she had swallowed drug pellets.

An X-ray showed foreign objects in her stomach, Mr Ricketts said, and Raynor excreted 22 cylindrical pellets over the next two days in hospital.

The package contained 91.6g of cocaine freebase, or crack. She had also swallowed 20 pellets containing 98.4g of cannabis and two pellets with 10.6g of cocaine hydrochloride.

Mr Ricketts said the crack cocaine would have yielded 573 “rocks” with a street value of $28,650, while the cocaine, sold in half grammes, would have been worth $2,500.

Cannabis sold in 0.5g twists of $25 each would be worth $4,925, he added.

Mr Tokunbo extended Ms Raynor’s $10,000 bail, requiring her to report twice weekly to police as well as surrendering her travel documents. She will be sentenced in July.