LOWE.I get paid to use my legs

Embattled Jamaican striker Onandi Lowe admitted he offered to deliver a parcel being sent from a colleague Michael O'Neil in Jamaica to the colleague's UK-based girlfriend, after he took the witness box during the second day of his trial at Northampton Crown Court yesterday.

The 30 year-old player denied knowing that the package contained crack cocaine. British police say the illegal substance had a street value of £117,000.

Lowe has pleaded not guilty to a single charge of attempting to possess a class A drug with intent to supply.

The jury heard extracts from a taped police interview in which Lowe said: "I gave him (O'Neil) tickets to see Rushden (his former club). I thought everything was fine and dandy. I thought he was a friend.

"If I knew what was in that package why would I be driving around with it in my car? My contract is worth more than that. I don't need that. I get paid to use my legs."

The Northampton Crown Court heard yesterday how Lowe agreed to accept the package sent from his friend and deliver it to the friend's girlfriend following a conversation in the players' lounge after a game at Nene Park last season.

The package, which contained cocaine with a purity of 71 per cent hidden under a consignment of T-shirts and baseball caps, was intercepted by customs officers at Miami International Airport and the drugs were replaced with flour before the box was resealed.

Lowe told the court he earned £4,500 a month after tax for playing professionally in England and was awarded both appearance and goalscoring bonuses on top of his basic salary.

He was due to receive a one-off payment of £12,000 from Rushden & Diamonds following his transfer to Championship side Coventry City.

Giving further evidence, Lowe said: "To be honest, it was a privilege to leave my country and for my family to be better off.

"It was a dream come true. In Jamaica there is no money. In Rushden there is money."

Lowe and a 23 year-old woman - Rochelle Anne-Marie Palmer - were arrested last April 14. Palmer had also pleaded not guilty to one charge of possession of crack cocaine after 6.9g of crack was allegedly found in a pair of trainers (track shoes) in Lowe's Hayden Court flat.

She was remanded on unconditional bail to reappear before Wellingborough magistrates.

The Jamaican international was playing for division one side Coventry City at the time of his arrest. He had been on loan from Rushden & Diamonds. Coventry released him at the end of last season. He was also dropped from the Reggae Boyz international squad after being charged, due to the Jamaica Football Federation's (JFF's) new zero-tolerance policy on drugs.

Lowe, a member of the team which qualified for the 1998 World Cup Finals in France, has also played professionally at Port Vale in England, as well as in the US Major League and the A League in Canada.

He last played for Jamaica in a friendly international against Honduras on March 31, 2004 at the National Stadium, scoring an eighth-minute goal to help the Boyz to a 2-2 result.

The trial continues today.

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