A man caught with cannabis and cocaine in the lining of his suitcase has been jailed for six years.

His girlfriend was discharged.

Shomari Virgil had pleaded guilty to charges of illegally importing the controlled drugs on a flight from Miami, while Precious Cooper maintained her innocence.

During a sentencing hearing in the Supreme Court, prosecutor Takiyah Burgess told the court that on, January 6, both Vigil and Ms Cooper arrived at LF Wade International Airport.

The pair passed through immigration, collected their checked luggage, and were pulled aside for a secondary inspection.

The court heard that when the first bag was x-rayed, customs officers noticed something unusual within the lining. A further search revealed a duct tape-wrapped package.

When the package was found, Ms Cooper reportedly yelled angrily before breaking down in tears.

Both Ms Cooper and Virgil were arrested and, while Ms Cooper said she knew nothing about the package, Virgil admitted he had brought it to Bermuda without her knowledge to make money.

Packages found in the bags were found to contain a total of 3,380.9 grams of cannabis and 492.7g of cocaine. The court heard that if sold on the streets of Bermuda, the cannabis could fetch more than $169,000, and the cocaine another $154,000.

Ms Burgess argued that an appropriate sentence for Virgil was between six and eight years behind bars, taking into account his early guilty plea.

Defence lawyer Charles Richardson said he could not disagree with the suggested range of penalties, but emphasised that his client was a father of four trying to support his family.

Virgil himself apologised to his family, Ms Cooper, the court and the community at large.

Delivering his sentence, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves found that a sentence of six years for each offence would be appropriate given all of the circumstances, ordering that both sentences run concurrently.

Immediately after the sentence, prosecutors presented a “nolle prosequi” before the courts, indicating that they did not wish to seek prosecution against Ms Cooper at this time.

Mr Justice Greaves subsequently discharged her, but warned her that prosecutors could potentially press charges against her on the same information in the future.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding criminal court cases. As we are legally liable for any slanderous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.