for importing cocaine and cannabis reduced.

Richard Ricardo Steede, 39, of Kitty's Drive, Hamilton Parish, was jailed in September with Lang Onley, who received 13 years, for conspiring to import the drugs in golf clubs.

Steede's lawyer, Richard Hector, said his client originally planned to appeal against both his conviction and his sentence.

At the Court of Appeal yesterday, he said the sentence was manifestly harsh and excessive because a small quantity of drugs -- more than a pound of cocaine and 13.9 grams of cannabis -- was involved and it would normally be dealt with at Magistrates' Court, where the maximum sentence is five years.

Appeal Court President Sir James Astwood, sitting with Sir Derek Cons and Philip Clough, refused Steede's application for leave to appeal against the conviction.