week when an "oversight'' allowed two convicted drug offenders to sit illegally on a jury in Supreme Court.

A Puisne Judge had to dismiss the jury on Monday because it is unlawful for any juror to sit on a panel if they have been convicted of any offence that would carry a penalty of at least 12 months in prison within the last seven years.

Both men were ineligible, because they had been convicted of drug offences in the past two years.

The Police are responsible for doing extensive background checks on all prospective jurors.

However, both men slipped through the cracks and heard three days' worth of testimony in a drugs case that involved Orien and Karen Tuzo.

The Boundary Lane, St. George's couple were charged with importing and possessing $12 million dollars worth cannabis (500 pounds) which they allegedly brought into Bermuda on March 22 in fruit juice bottles.

Their trial ended abruptly on Monday after Police investigators discovered that two jurors had drug convictions.

In a prepared statement, Deputy commissioner Mr. Michael Mylod said: "I deeply regret that on this occasion the hitherto secure system used by the Police in the vetting of jurors broke down.

"We have identified what happened and have taken appropriate action. It will not happen again.

"I have written a letter to the Attorney General explaining what happened and offered our apologies for the inconvenience caused.'' Mr. Mylod would not explain how the mistake occurred, what disciplinary steps were taken against the officer(s) responsible or what measures were now in place to ensure the error does not happen again.

He said:"That's an internal matter and I am not prepared to comment.'' Meantime, the Attorney General's chambers is still undecided about whether it will prosecute the two men who were sworn in even though they knew their convictions rendered them ineligible.

On Monday, Puisne Judge the Hon. Mr. Justice Ground dismissed the jury and ordered a retrial. The Tuzo's will get a new court date when they appear in court on September 1.

In the most conservative estimate, the wasted three days of the trial cost taxpayers -- when the daily wages for the Puisne judge, two Crown counsels a court clerk, two prison officers, a police duty officer, jury honoraria and coffee and donuts are factored in -- $4,974.

This figure does not include the daily cost of electricity during the trial, the rental of the court building itself, or the cost for janitors to clean up the courtroom each day.