HAMILTON, Bermuda, Jun 21, CMC – A self-employed mechanic was jailed for 20 years by a Supreme Court judge on Thursday after earlier admitting he plotted to import US $10 million worth of drugs and ammunition into Bermuda.

Justice Charles-Etta Simmons imposed the lengthy jail term on Victor Roberts, 46, who had originally denied the offences, but pleaded guilty to an amended indictment on Tuesday.

He admitted to conspiring with unidentified people to import controlled drugs, 100 rounds of 9mm ammunition and 100 rounds of 0.40mm ammunition.

Roberts, a father of five, travelled to the United States a year ago and hid the huge haul — which included heroin, cocaine, cannabis and the 200 rounds of ammunition – in a false bottom of an industrial compressor.

The self-employed mechanic made the modifications to the compressor himself and then made arrangements for it to be shipped back to Bermuda.

But Roberts was under surveillance by police and customs throughout the operation and was arrested as he began cutting the false bottom open outside his Warwick home on July 25.

The court was told that the authorities had, in fact, intercepted the haul in the US and replaced the drugs and ammunition with “dummy” packages.