The Chief Justice yesterday made an example out of a Southampton man who illegally obtained a record amount of US cash from local banks for people he refused to name.

Calvin Sinclair Edwards, 36, after pleading guilty in Supreme Court to 48 counts of foreign currency exchange violations involving more than $75,000, became the first person to be jailed for the offence.

Sentencing him to nine months in prison, the Hon. Mr. Justice Ward said: "By changing approximately $24,000 after you had been arrested (for exchanging Bda$52,000) and almost $12,000 in one day you have shown your contempt for the legislation.'' Prosecutor Mr. Khamisi Tokunbo hailed the sentence as a victory for the Crown in fighting a growing number of currency exchange violations which often involved the laundering of drug money.

Previously, fines and suspended sentences had been handed out for the offence, Mr. Tokunbo noted.

Edwards, who smiled upon hearing the sentence, told the Court before sentencing, "I'm sorry I did it but it's done. I was just doing what I had to. I couldn't get a job.'' He had told Police he committed the crimes because he was "paid good''.

The court heard Edwards exchanged a total of Bda$76,310.

He changed more than Bda$50,000 before he was first arrested back in 1992, and a further Bda$24,000 while on bail awaiting trial.

Stating the facts, Mr. Tokunbo said Edwards was arrested as a result of a search of his car on April 2, 1992.

Police, acting on information received, found several Bermuda Monetary Authority forms and Federal Express receipts.

An investigation uncovered that between July 1991 and June 1992, Edwards went to banks around the Island on 19 occasions.

Each time he falsely stated he was going abroad, giving dates to different bank clerks that sometimes overlapped.

When finally arrested in November, 1992, having failed to return the US currency he obtained, he admitted he made up the names on his BMA forms and claimed he had sent the money abroad to buy real estate.

But he later changed his story saying he had been giving the cash in bundles to a person who sometimes flew in from America to collect it.

Four bank visits in one day netted Edwards US$11,900, Mr. Tokunbo said.

That sum was part of $23,852 which Edwards obtained while on bail since his arrest.

Edwards told Police he was paid well for exchanging the cash, but refused to say how much he made or for whom he committed the offence -- it would "cause too much confusion''.

The Court heard Edwards was an unmarried construction worker who had past convictions for possession of marijuana.

Mr. Tokunbo submitted a prison term would be "the proper sentence in this case''.

"It's the highest amount so far that we know of to be illegally converted (into US),'' he said. "And we've never had anyone who changed more money into US while out on bail.

"It's time to send a message to those who commit this crime and the person behind them committing it and any other would-be person like him.'' Edwards, who represented himself, said he had not known at the time that his crimes were so serious.