Colin St Claire at the Magistrate's Court on September 27, 2013. Photo: VINO

Sinclair, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was reportedly an employee of Smith’s Ferry at the time when the incident allegedly occurred on April 11, 2012. The matter was previously heard under former Senior Magistrate Valerie Stephens but had to be restarted.

According to the allegations, Customs officers conducted a search on the vessel, ‘Bomba Charger,’ which arrived from St. Thomas at Road Town between 3 and 3:30 P.M. on the said date and allegedly discovered a blue back pack in a wooden compartment in the wheel house of the vessel.

In the bag was a vacuum bag wrapped with duct tape. Inside the vacuum bag was said to be a large amount of cash, which was later discovered to be $13,325.

The defendant allegedly told Customs that the money was given to him by one of his co-workers who disembarked at West End, adding that the co-worker was supposed to collect the money at the cleaning hole at Road Reef Marina where Smith’s boats are kept.

During an interview with the police, Sinclair allegedly said he did not know how much money was in the bag and that he stored the bag containing the monies in a general locker in the wheel house. It is alleged that the defendant admitted that he did not have any intention of declaring the monies to Customs.

Sinclair's attorney, Stephen Daniels, told the court his client did not get a chance to declare the monies because Customs approached the vessel and searched before declaration could be made.

His trial is expected to start on October 22, 2013.