Police officers told the Supreme Court how they collected evidence in an operation that led to the arrest of two men suspected of smuggling cannabis worth $308,000.

Melvin Simmons and Kanhai Armstrong have both denied charges that they conspired with others to import cannabis into Bermuda and sell the controlled drug.

The offences were alleged to have taken place between an unknown date and August 5, 2020.

The court previously heard that 11 heat-sealed packages of plant-like material were found by customs officers on that date, hidden inside an ottoman shipped to the island under the name “Calvin Wade”.

The packages were found to contain a total of 6,167.6g of cannabis, which could fetch as much as $308,000 if sold on the streets of Bermuda.

After the drugs were removed, the ottoman was put back into its box and returned to customs.

The court heard earlier that Mr Simmons collected the package on the morning of August 10 and the ottoman was later found cut open at Tynes Bay.

Damon Hollis, a detective with the Special Investigations Unit, said that he visited the Tynes Bay Waste-to-Energy Facility’s incinerator on the morning of August 10, 2020.

He told the court that, at the time, he was aware that drugs had been found in the ottoman and were replaced with decoys of packages filled with sand.

Mr Hollis said that he found a “large brown ottoman that appeared to be new” at Tynes Bay with a “large rip” in its cushion.

He added that he also saw a cardboard box from the service Best Shipping with the name “Calvin Wade” on its side.

Mr Hollis said that he took photographs of the ottoman and the cardboard box it came in and reviewed CCTV footage of the “tipping hall” where waste was collected.

Marc Daniels, for Mr Armstrong’s defence, suggested that the time-stamp on the CCTV, which said it was taken between 9.41am and 10.08am, was not accurate.

Jerry Waterman, also attached to the Special Investigations Unit, said that he took the footage from Tynes Bay on August 10, 2020, and placed it on a memory stick.

Mr Waterman said that he took a statement later that day from Meredith Paynter, an employee at Vault, where Mr Simmons worked.

He and Zoenique Williams, who later became head of the investigation, both said that on May 18, 2021, they assisted customs officers in arresting Mr Armstrong on conspiracy to import drugs.

Ms Williams said that, during his arrest, Mr Armstrong said that he had been off island for five years.

Under cross-examination by Elizabeth Christopher, for Mr Simmons, Ms Williams said that the evidence collected was sorted by an automated computer system.

She added that she was not aware that some footage from the company Vault had gone missing.

The trial continues.

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