nearly $20,000 worth of cocaine into the Island in his stomach.

Mr. Eugene Spence, 42, bought the cocaine on a trip to New York and swallowed it in 27 rubber packages, an inquest heard yesterday.

He got back into Bermuda but two of the packages split, causing a violent seizure during a birthday party for his mother.

The father of five eventually collapsed unconscious outside his home and died in hospital two days later.

Mr. Spence, of Lusher Hill, Warwick, was manager of Spence Hair Designs on Court Street.

He died on November 19 last year with at least four times the fatal dose of cocaine in his blood.

The inquest heard he was planning to put down up to $400,000 as a cash deposit on a new house costing $835,000.

Coroner Mrs. Cheryl-Ann Mapp ruled that Mr. Spence died accidentally. "This appears to have been almost a suicidal venture -- a complete and utter waste of life,'' she said.

Addressing widow Mrs. Leta Spence, she said: "I see absolutely no motive for the actions of your husband.'' Coroner's officer Sgt. Rex Osborne read statements to the hearing by Mr.

Reginald Ebbin of St. Mary's Road, Warwick, and Mr. Kenneth Minks of Happy Valley Road, Pembroke. They told how they went with their friend Mr. Spence to his mother's birthday party. He seemed in good spirits.

Mr. Spence went outside to talk to his sister Carol, with the door closed behind them.

Later he began to shake violently, and Mr. Ebbin and Mr. Minks tried to hold him down. He then asked to go home, and on the way they had to stop at Crow Lane bakery to get him some water.

"He said: `There's something in me, get me some water and some laxatives','' Mr. Minks recalled.

As they reached the bottom of the steps to his house he had another fit, worse than before, and collapsed onto the grass.

Mr. Minks' statement continued: "I concluded that he must have drugs inside him. I knew he had just come from overseas and in the past ...'' At this point Mrs. Mapp spoke to Sgt. Osborne and he stopped reading.

Mrs. Spence, dressed in black, sat on a stool in the witness box as Sgt.

Osborne read out a statement from her.

She said her husband of 22 years was overall manager of the shop, which was run mainly by their children, and he also managed reggae shows.

When he went to New York to look for hairdressing equipment he was in good shape. When he got back he did not have any equipment with him, and he complained of being unwell.

He also spoke of buying a house as a surprise. "He was always full of surprises so we didn't dwell on it.'' The next day on a bus, she noticed a car parked near Crow Lane bakery but did not see anyone inside it.

After getting home she heard a commotion outside. Her husband was delirious and apparently walking into things.

"I think at some time he may have recognised me,'' she added. "He was trying to say something.'' He fell down, water coming from his nose and blood from his mouth. His stomach seemed puffed up. She called 911.

Mrs. Spence added: "My husband was a private man, at times living a completely separate life.'' Mr. Spence did not regain consciousness, the inquest heard. A total of 78 grams of 65 percent pure cocaine was found in his stomach and intestine, which would have cost about $3,000 wholesale in New York.

Head of narcotics, Det. Ch. Insp. Norrell Hull, told the hearing such packages -- in this case made from the fingers of surgical gloves -- were an increasingly popular way of smuggling drugs.

Mrs. Mapp concluded: "This case is extremely tragic. Five children are fatherless and a wife and mother is without a husband for no apparent reason.'' Mr. Spence's death was a warning to potential drug mules, she added.