Michael Dunkley came face-to-face with a former narcotics chief who alleged three years ago that the he may have been involved in a drugs conspiracy.

Retired Superintendent Larry Smith claimed in a YouTube video during the run-up to the 2007 general election that the then Opposition leader was a suspect in a $3 million marijuana importation case.

Bermuda Police Service dismissed the accusation and Mr Smith was widely criticised for trying to smear the UBP politician, with commentator Tom Vesey describing his “lunatic insinuations” as demonstrably false.

On Thursday, Mr Smith now an associate minister at Bethel AME Church in Shelly Bay gave evidence to the joint parliamentary select committee on violent crime and gun violence, on which Senator Dunkley sits.

His presentation focused on what he claimed was a relaxation of border controls by Bermuda Police Service and HM Customs.

It was followed by a question-and-answer session with MPs, during which Sen Dunkley told Mr Smith: “Just for the record, I'm not an importer of drugs.”

As laughter broke out around the table, he added: “I say it in all seriousness.”

Mr Smith earlier told the committee that the narcotics division and HM Customs seized drugs with a street value of $321 million and a combined weight of 1.9 million grams between 2001 and 2006.

He said at the time the focus was on targeting the main players importing drugs to the Island, but the focus had now shifted to street enforcement.

“When you concentrate on street enforcement, you are dealing with minor players,” he said. “It takes thousands of dollars to buy drugs. If you want to deal in heroin, for instance, to purchase a kilo of heroin you must fork out at least $80- to $100,000 to buy it. You know you are not dealing with an ordinary guy on the street. You are dealing with main players. Main players can be dealt with through border enforcement.”

Mr Smith who served in the police service for more than 40 years and headed narcotics from 1999 to 2006 said it could be assumed that all drugs coming into the Country were for local consumption, since none were manufactured here.

“Why has there been a laxation of border control and why is there no aggressive border enforcement?” he asked. “Is this the reason for violence and anti-social behaviour?

“Research indicates that there has been a shift in policing philosophy. This has caused a shift in focus from borders to street and has created the weakening of the narcotics division.”

He claimed the shift had “created the turf wars and gang violence” because if drugs were being allowed to slip into the Country, so were guns and ammunition.

“In today's current violent climate, it's apparent that Bermuda Police Service has dropped the ball, putting the horse before the cart.

“We are missing drugs at the border and creating these little pockets of men who are selling for the main players.”

Mr Smith recommended the committee urge Government to insist on aggressive border enforcement from police and HM Customs.

Asked by PLP MP Ashfield DeVent about the main players, Mr Smith said when attempts were made to bring them down in the past “politics got involved and we were told to be hands off”.

He also suggested new PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence) legislation was preventing detectives carrying out methods such as “flipping” ie getting to the main players through minor suspects and allowing controlled deliveries of drugs to track down those in charge of importation.

Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva said yesterday: “Mr. Smith was invited by the joint select committee to give his views, as have many other people. The Bermuda Police Service is not inclined to answer each opinion that is given to the committee; rather, the Bermuda Police Service has accepted the joint select committee's offer to make its own submission which we presented recently.

“The job of the joint select committee is to pull all the views together and come up with its own position.”