Two teens were escorted off the Island by Police after their names appeared at the top of a hit list, according to their lawyer.

Both Jahfari Raynor, 17, Sadune Raynor, 16, have been shot at in the last three months; one incident left Sadune in the hospital.

They were due to appear in Magistrates' Court yesterday to answer drug possession charges.

However, lawyer Llewellyn Peniston told Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo his clients had left the Island "with the full knowledge of the Police".

"These young men have been escorted on a plane by Police," he said. "They were high up on a hit list."

He added: "It would have been a genuine risk to them to be in this court."

The young men were due to appear in court along with their mother Erica Raynor, 37, her boyfriend Temiko Wilson, 22, Malcolm Augustus, 18, and Dayrion McCalla, 19. They have been charged with possessing up to 1.69 grams of cocaine and four grams of cannabis in a Fairmont Hamilton Princess hotel room on April 2 this year. They have denied the charges.

Mr. Tokunbo issued a warrant for the Raynor brothers' arrests and adjourned the case.

He added that Mr. Peniston's explanation was not a matter for him to consider until the young men are brought before the court. He said the claims appeared to be "for the press" and not him.

Mrs. Raynor declined to comment on her sons yesterday. The Police did not respond to a request for comment on Mr. Peniston's claims.

In July the boys' grandmother told The Royal Gazette Jahfari had been shot at twice within a month. She claimed a bullet meant for him had hit his younger brother Sadune as well as Wilson while the three of them were outside a residence on Friswell's Hill on June 16.

At the time Police confirmed the incident was gang-related. The grandmother further confirmed that Jahfari had been shot at outside the family home on Mount Hill, Pembroke, on July 12.

The Royal Gazette opted not to print the brothers' names when the shootings happened due to their young age.

Attorney General Kim Wilson said yesterday that the newly passed Justice Protection Act 2010 has not yet come into force. The Act aims to make witnesses less afraid of giving evidence in serious court cases, by letting them stay in Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Turks and Caicos during the trial.

"It is my understanding that several individuals who are concerned for their safety may have left the jurisdiction of their own volition," she said.

"The provisions of the Act will come into operation on a date appointed by the Minister of Justice by notice in the [Official] Gazette."