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CO Pitcher2

Customs Officer Pitcher

I am a Customs Officer employed by the Bermuda Government.  I am attached to the Mobile Task Force.  My duties consist of examining passengers and cargo for contraband.  I cover all ports of entry into Bermuda.

At 2.45pm on Wednesday March 28th 1990 I was on duty in the freight shed at the Civil Air Terminal as a result of a conversation I had with C/O Rodill I went to the North Eastern area of the freight shed where I saw, underneath a shelf numbered B23 a wooden pallet.  On the pallet were two brown cardboard boxes they both bore a logo indicating that they contained "GE" colour televisions.

I noticed that both boxes had a US Air label on them written on the label was "JIMMY HARVEY, 36 MORGANS ROAD, WARWICK 809 2360881".  I noticed that the boxes also had an airway bill attached to them it bore the number "EWR 01106033" and the weight of the packages.  I could see that one of the boxes had been opened the other one was sealed with staples and each seam on the top had two layers of clear adhesive tape covering it.  C/O Rodill opened the unsealed box and I could see that it contained a television set packed with cardboard
and styrofoam.  C/O Rodill forced the back of the television away from the rear slightly and shone a flashlight inside it.  I looked inside it and I could see something wrapped in duct tape.  I then assisted C/O Rodill to open the second box that was on the pallet.  The box was difficult to open and I noticed that a lot of green coloured glue had been used to secure the flaps at the top.  This box also contained a television set packed in a similar fashion to the first.  C/O Rodill again forced the back of the television away from the front and I again saw that it contained a package wrapped in duct tape.  I then saw C/O Rodill seal both boxes with customs tape, that is a white coloured tape with a customs logo written on it.  I then left the area.

At 5.10pm the same day I returned to the freight shed in company with C/O Rodill, C/O Simons.  The freight shed was still open at this time and I saw DC McLean, DC Bourne, DC Providence, S/C Simons and several other Customs Officers.  

At 5.25pm the same day the only people left in the freight shed were Police and Customs Officers.

I assisted C/O Rodill to open the first of the two boxes on the pallet, this is the one that I had first seen opened earlier that day.  Inside the box was a twenty six inch GE colour television, it was packed in cardboard and styrofoam.  I could see that it was a console model.  It bore the serial number 945560102 and model number 26GC415.  DC Providence took a photograph of the television. 

I then saw C/O Rodill remove five screws from the rear of the television he also released four quick release retainers, he then removed the back from the television.  I
could see that the inside of the back of the television had a sheet of metal attached to it and held in place with four eye hooks.  This prevented anyone from seeing inside the television through the air vents.  Inside the television I saw four packages each wrapped in duct tape.  I saw C/O Rodill remove two packages from the right hand side.  I could see that one of the packages had "11GLS" written on it in red ink.  The Officer then removed the two packages from the left hand side.  I could see that they were held in place with wire and nails.  I saw "11GLS" written on both packages in red and blue ink.  One of the packages had a piece of cardboard pushed into it.

I saw C/O Rodill hand the four packages to S/C Simmons who placed them in a trash bag.

I then assisted C/O Rodill to open the second package on the pallet.  I could see that it was packed in a similar way to the first it contained a G.E. 26 inch colour television, a console model.  Model number 26GC415 serial number 945560078.  I saw C/O Rodill remove the five screws from the rear of the television and release four quick release containers.  The Officer then removed the back from the television.  I could see that it too had a sheet of metal attached to the rear inside of it, it was held in place with four eye hooks.  Inside the television I saw two packages, they were both wrapped in duct tape and were bigger than the packages in the first television.  I saw C/O Rodill remove the packages from the left hand side of the television.  I could see written on it in blue ink "15GL".  The Officer then removed the package on the right hand side of the television.  I could see a piece of cardboard was pushed into the side of the package.  I could see written on the package in blue ink was the logo "16¼ GL".  I saw the
Officer hand both packages to S/C Simmons who placed them in a trash bag.

At 6.29pm the same day I left the freight shed in company with C/O`s Simons and Rodill.  We arrived at the Police Narcotics Office at 7.00pm the same day.  At the Narcotics Office I saw S/C Simmons, DC Bourne, DS McLean, and DC B.T. Smith. 

At 7.15pm the same day I left the Narcotics Office.  I returned at 7.45pm.  In the Office I saw S/C Simmons.  I could see that he had the six packages wrapped in duct tape on two desks.  I had a conversation with Detective Inspector Jackson who was also present.  I then selected the package from the first television that was marked "11 GLS".  I made a cut in the package, I could see that it contained plant material, I removed a small quantity of the plant material and placed it in a small zip lcok bag.  I stuck an adhesive label on the bag and marked it "SMP1".  I put a further label on the duct tape on the package I removed it from and marked it "SMP2".  I then placed a piece of red evidence tape over the cut I had made and marked it SMP 28.3.90".  I then took the zip lock bag marked "SMP1" and put it inside a brown paper bag that I could see contained some dried grass.  I sealed the brown bag with red evidence tape.  When I first saw the brown bag it was already sealed with clear tape, I had to cut it open to put the zip lock bag inside it.  I sealed my cut with red evidence tape.

I then made a cut into a package wrapped in duct tape, this package was marked "15GL" and had been removed from the second G.E. colour television serial number 945560078.  I could see that this package also contained plant material.  I removed a small quantity of the plant material and placed
it in a zip lock bag.  I labelled this bag with an adhesive white label and marked it "SMP3".  I placed a white label on the package and marked it "SMP4".  I then sealed the cut in the duct tape with red evidence tape and initialled and dated it.

I then placed the zip lock bag in a brown paper bag that was sealed with adhesive tape, I had to cut the brown paper bag open as it was already sealed.  I sealed it with red duct tape.  I initialled and dated the seal.  I then handed the two bags together with three other bags containing dried grass and sawdust to C/O Rodill.  I saw C/O Rodill cover each bag with grey duct tape, I then placed the letter "S" enclosed in a circle on the two packages that I put the plant material in the zip lock bags in.

At 9.38pm the same day I saw C/O Rodill place two of the packages inside television serial number 945560078 one of the packages was one that contained the zip lock bag containing plant material.  The Officer then placed the back on the television and he packed it in its box.  He sealed the box with customs tape.  The Officer then placed the three other packages in the rear of television serial number 945560102 one of these packages contained the plant material in the zip lock bag that I had placed in it earlier.  The Officer then placed the back on the television and repacked it in its box, he sealed the box with customs tape.

At 9.15am on April 11th 1990 I went to the Narcotics Office at Prospect where I saw Sergeant Pett, the Custodian.  Sergeant Pett handed me the two zip lock bag that I had marked "SMP1" and "SMP3".  I placed both the zip lock bags in a heat seal bag, I sealed the bag, labelled it and returned it to Sergeant Pett.

Statement recorded between 1.45pm and 4.30pm by DS Rollin at Narcotics Office 8.5.90.

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