Two courier firm workers have been arrested on suspicion of importing cannabis into the airport on Friday night ? the latest in a spate of drug busts all over the island.

Police were staying tight-lipped about the narcotic and quantity involved. Contrary to broadcast media reports, no Customs officers were arrested. Collector of Customs Winifred Fostine-DeSilva defended her officers and added: ?We have had several cases all over customs recently including at cruise ships and courier facilities.?

The flurry of activity was nothing unusual for the summer season said Mrs. Fostine-DeSilva. The latest arrests were of a van driver and a customs processing agent working for courier company IBC.

The company?s Chief Operating Officer Rick Craft said: ?Two of our employees were implicated. We are helping both customs and Police with their investigation. Obviously there are suspect packages which come through which we deal with. For our employees to be implicated ? that?s a serious issue.?

Often packages were sent but left uncollected said Mr. Craft. ?Fortunately for us this time Police were able to get into play and there looks like there might be a good case.?

A Police spokesman said: ?Police are investigating an issue of importation that took place from one of the local courier services.?

He said at least one person was likely to appear in court soon.

Two men will be tried in Magistrates? Court in August after they denied assaulting two other men outside the Hamilton Marketplace with baseball bats last Thursday.

Aquil Richardson, 28, of Ponciana Road, Devonshire denies assaulting Daniel Burgess with an offensive weapon, causing bodily harm, and Burton Medeiros, 27, of Seawall Drive, Sandys denies an identical charge of hitting David Saunders. Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner adjourned the matter for trial until the August 22.

Police are investigating the robbery of two gold chains from a Smith?s man near the junction of Parson?s and Glebe Roads on Sunday afternoon.

The 30-year-old victim reported that around 1.40 p.m., a dark-skinned man, approximately five feet, eight inches tall and of medium build first snatched his cycle keys from the ignition and rode off before turning around and giving them back.

The suspect ? was wearing a black helmet, white T-shirt, a dark coloured windbreaker and blue jeans and was riding a white motorcycle ? then snatched the chains. The man was in his 20s and had his hair in braids.

Seven in ten respondents to a Royal Gazette online poll support a ?three strikes and you?re out? rule for drug traffickers.

Attorney General Larry Mussenden recently floated the idea of introducing the rule, where drug traffickers convicted three times would automatically receive lengthy prison terms.

And of the 885 people who responded to the unscientific poll on www.theroyalgazette.com, 73.1 percent said yes to the question ?Do you support a three strikes law for drugs trafficking??. Just 25 percent said ?no? while 3.7 percent said they did not know. The poll lasted from May 29 until June 4.

Log on to www.theroyalgazette.com to take part in The Royal Gazette?s latest poll on MP?s salaries.