Verline Hyacinth Watt, 60, the director of the Ministry of Finance's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Secretariat, was set free by Resident Magistrate Glen Brown after the Government Forensic Lab provided proof that the substance found was not cocaine.

The lab did not identify the substance that was found by the police in the tyre of an imported vehicle at Watt's upper St Andrew home.

In dropping the charges, the resident magistrate said the police were correct in acting on information that the substance believed to be an illegal drug was in the tyre of the imported vehicle.

But the magistrate added that the police might have avoided charging Watt in light of information that the vehicle was imported by her son, who is before the court on an unrelated charge.

Late yesterday, George Soutar, the attorney who represented Watt, said they had not discussed if she would be taking any action against the State.