four-men jury acquitted a grandmother of drug charges.

Jaqueline Marie Brangman, 51, of Barracks Close, St. George's, sobbed and nearly collapsed after she was found not guilty of importing more than $102,000 worth of cannabis with intent to supply.

She was comforted and escorted out of courtroom by relatives and friends.

But her 50-year-old co-defendant and former close friend, Sharon Tyrell, of Silk Alley, also of St. George's, was convicted on both counts.

It took the jury less than two hours to come back with unanimous verdicts on both women.

Tyrell, who stood motionless, was remanded in custody until June 1 when she is scheduled to return to court for mention.

A social inquiry report was also ordered, but is not expected for at least six weeks.

The women were stopped at the airport on October 23, 1993 as they returned from Jamaica via New York where the pair -- despite pre-arranged hotel reservations -- stayed with Tyrell's friends.

They were searched and questioned about a grey duffel bag that was left on the conveyer belt.

The bag contained a blue jacket -- similar to those worn by staff at the airport ramp -- with a bag of cannabis stashed in the lining.

The bag also had a baggage claim tag bearing Tyrell's name.

It was identified as containing drugs by a drug-sniffing dog.

But both women said they knew nothing about the drugs and had never seen the bag before.

Their lawyers, Mr. Archibald Warner for Brangman and Mr. Philip Perinchief for Tyrell tried unsuccessfully to have the case thrown out, claiming that the women had no case to answer.

Mr. Perinchief also pointed out that it did not make sense for his client to import drugs and have her name on the baggage claim tag.

However, the Crown -- represented by Mr. Khamisi Tokunbo and Mr. Melvin Douglas -- argued that Tyrell did not expect the tag or the contents of the bag to reach the arrivals hall.

The court heard that there was a heavy Police presence at the airport that night.

Mr. Tokunbo said Tyrell's plans also "got messed up'' because she did not plan to have to sign for her baggage in New York when she and Brangman arrived at JFK airport minutes before the flight was scheduled to leave for Bermuda.

He also pointed out that the court had heard "a number of new things'' from Tyrell which were not mentioned by other witnesses. And therefore prosecution witnesses were not able to testify about them.