A piece of lost luggage examined by customs officers at LF Wade International Airport contained illegal drugs worth almost $700,000, a Supreme Court jury heard.

Alexta Gill, a foreign national, is charged with importing 9,472 grammes of cannabis and 800 grammes of liquid cocaine when he arrived on the island with his girlfriend in March 2023. He denies the charges.

Opening the case for the Crown yesterday, lawyer T’Deana Spencer said that Mr Gill and Jhordan George-Horsford arrived in Bermuda on a WestJet flight from Toronto on March 2 last year.

The court heard that they contacted airport officials after realising that their black suitcase had not arrived with them and were told that it would be flown out to Bermuda within days.

Ms Spencer said that when the suitcase did arrive on the island two days later on an Air Canada flight, an X-ray caused officials to become suspicious and they decided to search it.

Giving evidence yesterday, Eric Wilson, a customs officer who carried out that search, told the court he opened up the case and found six “bricks” wrapped in black paper under some clothing in the main compartment.

Defence lawyer Susan Mulligan asked Mr Wilson if a piece of lost luggage could be described as “mishandled” by the airline. The witness agreed.

Jurors heard that the suitcase was seized by police and taken to police headquarters at Prospect for a second examination.

Sergeant Milton Hill, who was present at that search, told the court that, in addition to the suspicious bricks, a bottle of whisky was discovered in the case.

Detective Constable Warren Bundy, who was sworn into court as a forensics expert, said that a later analysis showed the bricks were made up of cannabis with a street value of $473,630.

He added that the bottle of whisky contained liquid cocaine with a street value of $203,106.

Under cross-examination from Ms Mulligan, Sergeant Hill was asked to examine the name tags and labelling on the suitcase, which was presented as an exhibit in court.

He agreed with Ms Mulligan that the only name on the attached labels was that of Ms George-Horsford.

She asked: “Anywhere on any of those tags, does it say ‘Alexta Gill’?”

“No,” the officer replied.

Customs documents showed that the couple were staying at the Four Ways Inn in Warwick during their stay on the island.

The court heard how a warrant was issued under the misuse of drugs act and a team of police officers was dispatched to the resort to arrest Mr Gill and his girlfriend.

Although they were not at the hotel when police arrived, officers were able to carry out a search of their room where further items were seized.

The couple was eventually intercepted at the Four Ways Inn on the following evening.

Detective Sergeant Mark Raposo, who arrested Mr Gill, told the court that the suspect had originally given a false name before producing a Canadian driver’s licence.

Sergeant Raposo said that the pair were taken into custody for questioning.

The court heard that a search of a pouch carried by Mr Gill uncovered various drug paraphernalia, including a small tray and a pair of scissors, a bullet-shaped grinder, and a heat-sealed bag containing a plantlike material.

Jurors heard that a search of Ms George-Horsford found a bag containing more plantlike material and two hand-rolled cigarettes.

Constable Bundy said that later analysis showed that the items contained traces of cannabis.

The trial, before Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe, continues and will resume tomorrow.

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