unanimous not guilty verdicts that were handed down in the Reid Simmons cannabis trial yesterday.

A Supreme Court jury deliberated for exactly two hours and acquitted Simmons of importing $97,755 worth of cannabis into Bermuda on April 14, 1993 and handling the drug with intent to supply.

However he was fined $150 and $100 respectively after he pleaded guilty to possessing 0.79 grams of cannabis and 0.30 grams of cannabis resin on that same day.

Simmons, 36, of Kilderry Estate Road, Smith's Parish, closed his eyes in an expression of relief after the first not guilty verdict was read out and he raised his fists over his head in a thankful gesture when the second not guilty plea was recorded.

Yesterday brought an end to more than two years of waiting for Simmons whose first trial ended in a hung jury last September.

Simmons hugged relatives and well wishers and personally thanked each juror as they passed him on their way out of the courtroom.

The crown had alleged that Simmons was a key element in the success of the drugs importation operation that brought the cannabis into Bermuda in four hollowed out dictionaries.

Simmons was represented by lawyer Richard Hector while Melvin Douglas appeared for the Crown.