A Supreme Court jury is expected to consider a verdict today in a case of a man who admitted swallowing $500,000 worth of heroin.

On the witness stand yesterday, Anthony Eugene Seymour admitted swallowing 18 pellets of heroin.

Seymour, 39, of North Court Avenue, Pembroke, is charged with possession of a controlled drug with the intent to supply.

When giving evidence yesterday Seymour claimed he came into contact with the drugs purely by chance.

He said: "I saw a man put a brown paper bag under a trash can on Court Street.

"I went over and picked up the bag. I looked into it and I took it home and emptied out on my work bench.

"I cut open one of the pellets to see if it was cocaine or heroin ? then I re-wrapped the pallet I cut open.

"I then swallowed all of the pallets."

The 11 woman, one man jury heard that Seymour had planned to fly to Florida after ingesting the drugs, but before he was able to travel he began suffering from the effects of heroin ingestion.

Seymour said: "I felt bad and I tried to vomit them up, but all that came up was a black liquid and pieces of rubber.

"I've read stories in the paper of people doing stuff like this ? I felt so stupid ? I felt like an idiot ? I thought I was going to die.

"I didn't think that something like this would give me a potential life sentence."

During cross examination, Crown counsel Cindy Clarke asked Seymour what was his plan for the drugs once he got to Florida.

"I was going to sell them or find a way to get rid of them," he said.

"I don't know."

Ms Clarke had argued that Seymour had ingested the drugs sometime before March 14, 2002.

On the same date he went to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital complaining of stomach pains. He subsequently had two operations in which a total of 18 pellets of heroin were removed from his bowels and stomach.

Ms Clarke told the jury that the Crown believed that there was intent to supply because the amount of drugs recovered could not have been for Seymour's personal use.

On Wednesday, the court heard from Sgt. Hayden Small, who said the heroin removed from Seymour was of an unusually good quality.

"Based on my experience, 68 to 69 percent purity is very good heroin," said Mr. Small.

"On average the heroin we seize has a purity of 40 to 50 percent."

Also giving evidence yesterday, Det. Con. Damon Hollis told the jury that he and Det. Con. Denise Downey were present when Dr. Wolfgang Spangenberger twice operated on Seymour to remove the pellets.

Det. Con. Hollis explained that the drugs were later analysed and found to be 112.8 grams of heroin.

Lawyer Craig Attridge is representing the defendant and the trial continues today before Assistant Justice Archibald Warner.