lawyers to throw out drug charges against two St. George's women.

Sharon Tyrell, 50, and Jacqueline Brangman, 51, both of St. George's are charged with importing $102,000 worth of cannabis with intent to supply.

The drugs were found at the airport on October 23, 1993, inside a jacket in a grey duffel bag with a baggage tag bearing Tyrell's name.

Both women have denied the drug charges and claimed to have never seen the grey bag before it was shown to them upon their return to Bermuda.

Their respective lawyers, Mr. Philip Perinchief and Mr. Archibald Warner, had submitted there was no case to answer.

But yesterday Mr. Justice Ward ruled both defendants had cases to answer.

And both women testified before the court for the first time.

Brangman, a grandmother, said she left Bermuda in mid October for a ten-day vacation in Jamaica with her friend, Tyrell.

During her stay she said she purchased T-shirts, a grey and white-striped canvass bag, and a pair of silver bangles for her granddaughter.

She said they left Jamaica on October 22 and spent one night in New York before returning home on October 23.

While in New York, Brangman said they stayed with friends of Tyrell in Manhattan.

The court heard that Brangman and Tyrell arrived at JFK airport about 15 minutes before the flight to Bermuda was scheduled to leave because Brangman and the wife of Tyrell's friend had been shopping earlier.

Brangman said when they arrived at the JFK airport an American Airlines ticket agent processed their tickets and passed them two baggage claim tickets to fill out in case their bags did not arrive on the same flight.

But the Crown, represented by Mr. Khamisi Tokunbo and Mr. Melvin Douglas, contended the women were given three baggage tickets, one for the green bag Brangman checked through, one for the black bag Tyrell checked in, and one for the grey duffel bag which was found unattended on the airport conveying belt.

Both Brangman and Tyrell said they were searched at the airport and questioned about the grey bag.

Under cross examination by Mr. Douglas, Brangman admitted she answered yes when senior Customs Officer Mr. Lynn Smith asked her "Are these your tags?'' But she said she did not know the number of tags to which he was referring.

Brangman also admitted saying prior to her arrest: "What have I got myself into. Wherever I went everyone was offering me reefer.'' She told the court she and Tyrell were no longer good friends.

But in a fiery exchange with Mr. Tokunbo, Tyrell denied her relationship with Brangman had soured.

And she strenuously denied accusations by Mr. Tokunbo that she and Brangman had concocted a plan to import the drugs.

Mr. Tokunbo said Tyrell's plans "got messed up'' because she did not plan to have to sign for her baggage, and because neither the bag nor its contents -- including the tag with her name on it -- were pulled from the conveyer belt in Bermuda before they were spotted.

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

The case resumes in the Supreme Court this morning before an eight-woman, four-men jury.