A woman who swallowed 19 pellets containing cannabis and ecstasy with an estimated street value of $23,150 admitted trying to smuggle drugs into the country.

Ashley Mussenden, 22, was caught by a customs officer when she arrived in Bermuda from a flight from London last September, a court heard yesterday.

Mussenden, who was 21 at the time, was going through customs when an officer found a pellet containing a brown substance in her luggage.

When questioned about what it was, she said: “Hash, I was smoking it out there.”

She denied that she had swallowed more pellets and told customs officers: “I don’t have any more”.

Mussenden was arrested on suspicion of importation of drugs and was taken to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where she was given an X-ray and ultrasound examinations. A CT scan found there were “several foreign objects” inside her.

Mussenden was discharged from hospital three days later and taken to Hamilton Police Station, where she declined to comment during an interview.

Her iPhone was examined and was found to contain messages about “getting high” in England. The court heard how she believed she would be paid between $4,000 and $5,000 for bringing the drugs into the country.

Mussenden admitted concealing the controlled drugs inside her body on September 8 last year.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo heard that she swallowed 19 pellets containing 185.2g of cannabis resin and 46.5g of ecstasy.

Mr Tokunbo ordered a report from the anti-drug abuse Bermuda Assessment & Referral Centre and a social inquiry report after a submission from defence lawyer Paul Wilson. The case was adjourned until September 11.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.