Former Director of Public Prosecutions Khamisi Tokunbo told detectives they should continue to hold suspects in the Lagoon Park murder trial beyond five days as long as their lawyers do not protest, it was revealed yesterday.

Det. Sgt. Jerry Laws, finishing his third full day on the stand since beginning his testimony on Monday, dropped the bombshell on the length of time three men were in custody, beginning from August 9, 2001.

The men, Robert Blair Tucker, James (Spook) Dill and Terranz (Monster) Smith were charged in Magistrates? Court on August 15 with killing American ex-con Stanley Lee ? seven days after Dill and Tucker were taken into custody on various holding charges.

Prosecutors say Mr. Lee was involved in cocaine importation with the trio, and he was killed after it was discovered the drug was of low quality.

It is alleged that relations turned violent after Mr. Lee began to demand the return of any unsold drug and any money related to sales to return it to the US. Smith showed Police the dead man ? known to Bermudians as Sean Russells ? in an apparently unsuccessful attempt at immunity for an unrelated break-in charge. Smith was arrested on August 8 and showed officers the body in isolated Lagoon Park on the morning of August 9. Often a point of issue between prosecutors and defence lawyers, the length of time a person can be held without being charged apparently varies from between 48 and 72 hours ? with defence lawyers generally claiming in court, the shorter period.

Det. Sgt. Laws also revealed that he was told that the dead man was named ?Sha? or ?Sean Russells? by Sgt. James Hoyt on August 9 ? the day Police were shown the body.

During cross-examination Smith?s lawyer Ed Bailey (pictured) repeatedly asked Det. Sgt. Laws about conditions at the Somerset Police Station, suggesting it was ?not fit for human habitation?.

Mr. Bailey asked: ?Perhaps you can help by explaining to the court how an individual can be held for over seven days before being brought before the courts??

Det. Sgt. Laws paused before he replied: ?My Lady, we had a meeting with the previous Director of Public Prosecutions at the time on Monday, 13 August and the DPP stated that we were to continue to investigate and interview the persons in custody until there is an application by their lawyers to have them brought before the courts for the offence for which they were in custody for.?

Dill?s lawyer, Liz Christopher, interrupted Mr. Bailey?s cross examination to ask Puisne Justice Norma Wade Miller to read back Sgt. Laws? answer ?for clarity?, adding: ?Perhaps the witness could clarify ? was that really your answer??

Mrs. Justice Wade Miller read over the answer in open court, before Mr. Bailey continued, asking ?did you, on receiving these instructions, recognise that something was wrong (with Mr. Tokunbo?s instructions)??, before inquiring if there was a ?chain of command?.

Det. Sgt. Laws replied that the leading detective in the case Det. Ch. Insp. Earl Kirby, was present for the meeting and that once the meeting was over, ?I continued on?.

Mr. Bailey, flopping his notepad to his desk, replied ?So that?s it then, they just stayed!? but ended his cross-examination. The trial was then adjourned for the weekend.

Earlier, Mr. Bailey pressed the detective on Smith?s physical condition during his time in custody, including a visit to the hospital and whether he was suffering from ?withdrawals and sickness?.

Det. Sgt. Laws said he was aware of Smith complaining of being sick and knew that he had been to hospital.

And he denied that star witness Nathan Darrell was offered a deal because he has not been charged for drugs found at his home at the time of his arrest on August 10.

Det. Sgt. Laws also detailed Tucker?s reconstruction of his movements on July 28, 2001 in his final statement in custody.

In his reconstruction statement, Tucker repeated the details of the actual killing, recanted his assertion that two American women killed Mr. Lee and denied planning to kill him.

Tucker said: ?No, I didn?t leave my house with the intention of killing him. It was just to f**k him up. To give him a beating. No, I didn?t choose Lagoon Park, we just ended up in Dockyard.?