A Supreme Court jury heard that a Customs officer became suspicious when golf clubs she was examining failed to balance on her fingers.

The officer was testifying during the second day of the trial of Richard Ricardo Steede, 39, of 12 Kitty Drive, Hamilton Parish and Lang Onley, 40, of 12 Harvest Lane, Hamilton Parish.

Steede and Onley are charged with conspiring to import more than a pound of cocaine, possessing cocaine with intent to supply, and handling the same drug with a street value of $138,000.

The drugs were found in 16 golf clubs sent from a New York address via Fed-Ex to Onley.

Customs officer Wanda Francis yesterday told the court she decided to examine the clubs more closely after an inconclusive X-ray test.

Ms Francis was on duty on March 28, 1998 at the airport. She said she received some information which indicated that incoming golf clubs should be checked for drugs.

Later that day she went to a room where there was an X-ray machine and waited for her supervisor Mr. Martin White.

Ms Francis said Mr. White brought a black golf canvas bag to her location.

The bag was placed on the machine and she observed a set of golf clubs.

"I looked at the label and saw who it was sent to. I took the clubs out of the bag,'' said Ms Francis.

She admitted that it was not possible to tell if anything was wrong with the clubs.

But she said: "I took the clubs out of the bag. I balanced one on my finger.

I noticed the club did not seem to balance.'' Ms Francis said she related her suspicion to Mr. White.

She also noted there were 16 golf clubs -- a mixed set, some were Knights brand and others were McGregor brand.

Each club was individually wrapped in a plastic bag.

She also noted that the invoice said 14 clubs, but there were 16 in total.

Ms Francis said the golf bag was secured overnight at the airport then taken to a Horizon Guest Cottage by narcotics police and herself. Golf professional Edwin Jackson dismantled the golf clubs around 6:30 a.m. on March 29, last year by removing the grips.

She said Government analyst Shirley Bayne and other officers were present when Mr. Jackson removed white powder from the shafts.

During cross-examination lawyer Mark Pettingill, who is representing Onley, asked Ms Francis if the green-and-tan-coloured golf bags were the same ones identified in a photograph taken by Det. Con. Eric Malcolm Woods.

"The picture is glossier, is it not?'' Mr. Pettingill asked.

Before the lunch break Ms Francis searched but could not find her identification mark on the golf bag which is an exhibit in the drug case.

When the case resumed at 2:30 p.m. Mr. Pettingill continued his cross-examination.

"Are you surprise you do not find your mark?'' Mr. Pettingill continued.

"No, not really. I was nervous before all these people who were looking at me,'' said Ms Francis.

"I am sure I marked one of the pockets. If it was chipped, I would not find it,'' said Ms Francis.

There was silence in the courtroom for about 15 minutes as the Customs officer searched eagerly for the area on the golf bag where she had placed her identification marking.

"Here it is!'' she shouted as she pointed to a place where it was written.

Mr. Jackson told the court he has a golf professional for 59 years and he is an expert on all aspects of golf club repairs.

He said he was asked by narcotics officers to dismantle some golf clubs.

At first the golf clubs appeared to be okay, not tampered with, he said.

However, when he used a gadget to find out whether the golf clubs were balanced the shafts were not the same weight.

"I found that alarming because McGregor clubs would not make such clubs,'' Mr. Jackson said.

The golf expert added that he removed the grip from the shaft of the club and he saw a cork covered with electrical tape in the butt end.

Mr. Jackson said he was told to replace the grip and the analyst Shirley Bayne was called. He said around 7:15 a.m. on March 29 Ms Bayne and Det. Con. Woods and other officers attended and witnessed the removal of the white powder from the shafts.

Mr. Jackson said the powdery substance stuck to the drill he was using and he had to tap the shafts a few time on a piece of paper on the floor of his workshop in order to release the substance.

All the white powder could not be removed by drilling or using rods, said Mr.

Jackson.

On the April 7, 1998, Mr. Jackson said he called the Narcotics Department to crack open the steel shafts in the presence of Police.

The case continues today before Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller. Lawyer Richard Hector is representing Steede.