A Canadian charged with smuggling cannabis into Bermuda said that he had checked in the suitcase containing the drugs for a friend — but was unaware of its contents.

Ngongo-Eric Sampassa, 32, from Ottawa, told the Supreme Court that he had agreed to travel to Bermuda with a friend named David, who had purchased the tickets for them.

However, he said, he checked in David’s suitcase himself, under the belief that that man would be taking a different flight to the island and that they would meet again later that day.

“I was helping him, based on the conversation,” Mr Sampassa said.

Previously, the court heard that a drug-sniffing dog alerted Bermuda customs to the suitcase, which was subsequently was found to hold 26 vacuum-sealed bags containing a total of 9,736 grams of cannabis, along with a wet towel.

A customs officer said that when asked why the dog might have flagged up the suitcase, Mr Sampassa responded: “There may be marijuana in my bag.”

When the officer pressed him by stating either “there is or there isn’t”, he allegedly responded in the affirmative.

As the trial continued yesterday, Pc Adrian Jones said that he had attended the airport to assist with the investigation and was tasked with taking notes.

He said that while there, he noticed a liquid dripping out of the suitcase.

Mr Jones said that he primarily worked on financial crimes and, being aware of the hazards that other officers deal with daily, he was “a bit apprehensive” about the liquid.

He said that Mr Sampassa was asked what the liquid was, and replied: “Water.”

Mr Sampassa later took the stand, telling the court how he had grown up “pretty privileged” in Ottawa as the grandson of the ambassador of Zaire in Canada.

He told the court that in Canada he had worked as a basketball trainer, along with jobs in public affairs for the Canadian Department of National Defence and the Bank of Canada.

Mr Sampassa said that his spouse was a trade commissioner for Canada, and in 2022 was appointed to a post in the Philippines with the Canadian Foreign Service.

He said that the couple moved to the Philippines that September and in early 2023 he had landed a corporate trainer position with Global Affairs Canada, with the job expected to begin in April.

“Once I found out the start date, they told me it was going to be a really busy position, especially at first because they were transitioning from one software to another, so I knew I wasn’t going to see my family and friends for at least eight months,” he said.

He decided that he would return to Canada briefly before the job began, adding that he wanted to make sure a basketball camp he had established would be able to continue in his absence.

Before he left the Philippines, he said he had a conversation with his friend, David Lit, whom he had known since 2008 through basketball.

He said Mr Lit had told him that he had recently broken up with his partner and they discussed travelling to Bermuda together.

Mr Sampassa said that he left the Philippines on March 9 and, on March 11, he took a taxi to Toronto Pearson International Airport for a flight to Bermuda.

He said that when he arrived at the airport with only a carry-on bag, he saw Mr Lit in line with a larger suitcase. He joined his friend, but after a brief conversation Mr Lit’s phone rang and he stepped away to answer it.

He said he could not hear the conversation, but when Mr Lit came back he had a serious look on his face.

“I ended up checking in his bag,” he said. “Getting the tag for it and putting it on the conveyor belt.”

Mr Sampassa said he did not open the bag or notice any smell of cannabis emanating from the suitcase.

He said that while he did not believe they would be on the same flight, he understood that they would meet in Bermuda later that day.

Mr Sampassa added that he had never been to Bermuda and was not aware of the schedule of flights to the island.

He accepted that he filled out a customs declaration, despite being unaware of the suitcase’s contents, and was not worried when he was taken for a secondary search.

However, after hearing that the bag had received a K9 alert and that a customs officer said the bag smelt of cannabis, he began to “put the pieces together”.

“I was thinking that David brought a little something,” he said.

Mr Sampassa accepted that when asked if the bag did or did not contain cannabis, he responded “I do”, but said he did so in a “questioning tone”.

When the bag was opened and the cannabis was revealed, he said he was “shocked”.

“I don’t know if frustrated and angry is a strong enough term,” Mr Sampassa said. “It felt like I got thrown to the wolves.”

While Mr Sampassa said the diplomatic status he received through his wife’s post would protect him from prosecution, detainment or arrest, he said he had not used his diplomatic passport to enter Bermuda because it was not an official trip.

Under cross-examination, he denied the suggestion that he had offered the diplomatic passport to customs officials after the drugs were discovered, in an attempt to avoid prosecution.

Mr Sampassa said that before the incident he viewed Mr Lit as a good friend, and that the latter would have been aware of his diplomatic status.

He also said that he was made aware months after the arrest by his lawyer that Mr Lit had been arrested in the Turks and Caicos for drugs offences in April 2022.

Questioned as to why he had not said the bag was not his sooner, he said he was not aware of how the laws worked in Bermuda and, when informed that he had the right to offer no comment, he took it.

The trial continues.

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