A businessman has been jailed for trying to smuggle more than $400,000 worth of drugs into Bermuda by hiding heroin, crack and cannabis in a skintight body suit.

Antoine Kent was caught red-handed after arriving at LF Wade International on a flight from New York on June 19 last year.

Today at Supreme Court, Kent, 50, was jailed for six years after admitting three charges of importing drugs into Bermuda.

The court heard that Kent had decided to bring in the drugs because his business was in financial dire straits?and he needed the money.

In his social inquiry report Kent said: “It happened in June. I had been asked so many times over the years. I had my business for 18 years.

“They caught me at a time when I was financially strapped and I agreed.”

He acknowledged he had embarrassed his mother and his family, and disappointed a lot of people.

Kent had flown to New York on June 16 last year to collect the drugs. He flew back to Bermuda three days later and was stopped at customs after officers became suspicious that he was hiding something under his clothes.

He was searched by customs officers who discovered several packages stuffed into a body suit under his clothes.

Questioned, he told officers that the material in the packages were “weed”.

The drugs seized were later analysed and found to include 52g of crack with a street value of $16,450; 119g of heroin with a street value of nearly $350,000 and 2,289g of cannabis worth $114,447 on the streets of Bermuda.

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