Three New Yorkers left Magistrates' Court yesterday after receiving a tongue-lashing and fines totaling almost $9,000 for drug offences.

And last night, one of the three men remained in custody after being unable to pay his fines while the other two returned home.

Curtis Stephen Brewster, Brian Thompson and Henry Thomas Buchholtz had been searched after disembarking from the Song of America when it arrived in St.

George's on Tuesday.

A total of 44.39 grams of cannabis and 2.22 grams of cocaine were found among them along with assorted drug equipment, including pipes and cigarette papers.

Thompson, 19, pleaded guilty to importing cannabis with intent to supply, possession of cocaine and possession of drug equipment.

Buchholtz, 19, pleaded guilty to possession of 17.38 grams of cannabis and possession of drug equipment while Brewster, 21, pleaded guilty to possession of 3.82 grams of cannabis and possession of drug equipment.

Duty Counsel Richard Horseman told the court the three men were obviously on a party cruise but stressed the drugs were not meant for anyone else.

Magistrate Cheryl-Ann Mapp said: "The Song of America seems to be the ship of choice nowadays.'' Mr. Horseman said the men had come from New York and did not realise the seriousness of what they were doing.

But Mrs. Mapp exclaimed: "Bermuda is no different than New York. Drugs are illegal there too.'' She added she was sure there were signs on the ship and in the arrival and departure terminals the men had passed through stat ing importation of drugs was illegal.

Mrs. Mapp said the men wanted to "try something and got caught''.

Mr. Horseman said the ship was due to depart that afternoon because of the approaching hurricane and the trio had experienced problems in getting money wired to the Island to cover their impending fines.

Mrs. Mapp replied that while she was not trying to be "facetious'', the men's problems were not her concern.

She said the offences involved drugs and the amounts involved were not insignificant and although the men said they were for personal use that "did not make it better''.

Mr. Horseman asked her to be as lenient as she could in sentencing because the men pleaded guilty and were young visitors to the Island.

Mrs. Mapp told the court that the men had been caught with the drugs in their possession while disembarking from the ship which suggested they intended to use them on Bermudian soil.

They had also been caught "red-handed'', she added, which meant a plea of guilty was the only realistic course they could take.

She told the trio: "We welcome visitors and cruise ship passengers but not their drugs.'' "When you are under the influence of drugs, we don't know you or what you are going to do and that puts members of our community at risk.'' Mrs. Mapp said that she, on behalf of the Bermudian community, did not take kindly to anyone bringing drugs to the Island and despite what the men paid for the drugs in New York, they would find the going rate in Bermuda "quite high''.

She then fined each man $150 for possession of drug equipment. She also fined Brewster and Buchholtz $800 and $3,500 respectively for possession of cannabis.

Mrs. Mapp then told Thompson: "You are not the type of visitor we wish to attract here. If you cannot come on holiday without bringing that stuff with you then do not come back. We do not want you and your stuff here.'' She fined him $400 for possession of cocaine and $3,800 for importation of cannabis.

In closing, Mrs. Mapp said fines were purposefully high in Bermuda against users and suppliers because the courts were trying to discourage the use of drugs in Bermuda.

And the men would have to remain in Bermuda until the money could be wired to them to pay their fines, she said.

Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Horseman reappeared before Mrs. Mapp and appealed Buchholtz's and Thompson's sentences.

Mrs. Mapp remanded them both in custody pending the outcome of the appeal which will be given priority and go before a Supreme Court judge at the earliest opportunity.

Mr. Horseman asked for them to be released on their own recognizance but Mrs.

Mapp said they had no ties to Bermuda and limited means so she would remand them in custody.

However, Mr. Horseman said last night Buchholtz and Brewster had paid their fines and left the Island while Thompson remained remanded in custody.

Later, a spokesman for John S. Darrell -- the Song of America's agents in Bermuda -- responded to Mrs. Mapp's comment about the vessel being "the ship of choice''.

He said he did not think any one ship was worse than another when it came to the amount of drugs being carried on them.

He said he realised that when the cruise ship season began, a large number of drugs were brought in on the liners, but he could not say if one was guiltier than another.

Perhaps, he suggested, authorities had simply been more successful in catching people from the Song of America over the last few weeks than they had been with the other vessels.

CHERYL-ANN MAPP: `We do not want you and your stuff here.'