The case of a man accused of smuggling millions of dollars worth of drugs into Bermuda has been delayed due to his lengthy hospitalisation.

Dennis Pamplin, the estranged husband of United Bermuda Party politician Pat Gordon-Pamplin, has been in custody since his arrest in July 2008.

An American citizen, he was arrested alongside another American, Brian Henry, by narcotics officers in a swoop on a New Jersey warehouse after a months-long surveillance operation by undercover cops and special agents.

New Jersey's Drug Enforcement Agency said in a statement at the time that both suspects were brought in for questioning after a police dog sniffed out 700 lbs of marijuana hidden inside concrete pillars at the warehouse.

Following their arrest, both men were charged with conspiring to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana with an estimated street value in Bermuda of $15 million.

Pamplin who went by the alias "King" according to court documents has always maintained his innocence, although he's been involved in plea negotiations according to letters on file from his lawyer.

Henry has admitted his role in the drugs conspiracy and also to being a gun runner. In December 2008 he pleaded guilty at Manhattan's Southern District Court to four counts — including the illegal possession with intent to supply of 1,000 kilograms of a substance containing marijuana, the illegal possession with intent to supply of 500 grammes of cocaine, and the illegal importation of firearms.

The offences took place between 2001 and this year.

According to court documents, Henry told investigators that he oversaw the packing of approximately five such shipments which contained marijuana weighing a total of approximately 2,100 lbs, or approximately 955 kilograms, which were destined for Bermuda.

According to a statement from Stephen Casey, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Adminstration: "Henry stated that after the marijuana was packaged, Pamplin arranged for each shipment to be transported overseas to Bermuda, via the Port of Newark, New Jersey."

Pamplin's pretrial conferences at the same court venue have been repeatedly delayed. The most recent documents on the court file show he has been in a prison hospital since at least the beginning of December 2009.

On January 27, defence lawyer Louis Freeman asked for the case to be delayed until last week explaining: "This request is occasioned by Mr. Pamplin's lengthy hospitalisation at the BOP (Bureau of Prisons) facility in Butner, South Carolina, where he is still being treated, and our expectation that he will not return to this district much before then."

And the conference that was supposed to take place last week was postponed to May 21 by judge Victor Marrerro who said: "The ends of justice served by such continuance outweigh the interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial because it will permit the parties to continue discussing the potential for an early disposition of this matter, and will enable the defendant to continue receiving medical treatment at the Federal Medical Center where he is currently incarcerated."

The court documents do not specify the nature of Pamplin's illness, and Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin and Mr. Freeman declined to comment.