The purity of an illegal drug is not a mitigating factor when a judge hands down a prison term, Acting Assistant Justice Charles-Etta Simmons said yesterday before she sentenced an American drug mule to four and a half years behind bars.

Mrs. Justice Simmons emphasised this after defence lawyer Patrick Doherty asked that Geisha Ann Alomar, 43, of New York, not be meted a hefty sentence for importing 143.8 grammes of heroin into the Island on December 20 last year.

Crown Counsel Graveney Bannister told Mrs. Justice Simmons how the mother-of-four arrived on the Island aboard a commercial airline. She told Immigration officials that she was on the Island for a three-day vacation.

When her hands were ion-scanned, they tested positive for the presence of a controlled drug, Mr. Bannister said. The court also heard that when Alomar was stripped searched, a Customs officer noticed a white object protruding from her vagina.

She subsequently admitted that she had drugs on her and began crying and banging her head on a table, Mrs. Justice Simmons heard.

Mr. Bannister also said when Alomar was conveyed to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, 11 cylindrical pellets were extracted from her vagina. After x-rays revealed foreign objects in her abdomen, a further four pellets were extracted from her anus. The drugs would value $158,180 if sold on the streets, he said.

When she made a statement to Police, Alomar told them she was offered $5,000 to import the drugs by a man named Jose. She said he told her that a man would knock on her hotel door and bring her money for the drugs.

Det. Con. Terrylyn Williams testified the information provided by Alomar was not substantive.

"Ms Alomar said she had no idea who the drugs were for. There were just too many Joses in New York to check."

Suggesting a sentence of between 18 and 21 years, Mr. Bannister said Alomar's punishment should not only reflect the concerns of Parliament, but the seriousness of the offence as well.

However, Mr. Doherty asked that she receive a "cocaine-type sentence" between four and six years. But when he said heroin declined in value as its purity decreased, Assistant Justice Simmons would not allow the analogy.

"But that makes no difference at the end of the day," she said. "Judges should not be considering marketing values. They should not be bringing drugs into the Island."

Alomar, who cried silently during legal submissions, sobbed uncontrollably as she addressed Mrs. Justice Simmons.

"I would like to apologise to Bermuda. Please have some compassion on my kids. I would like to go home to them."

She also told the judge she had a 26-year-old son who suffered from a mental disorder which prevented him from leaving the house.