handling cannabis with intent to supply walked out of the Supreme Court a free man yesterday after he was cleared of all charges.

A beaming and visibly relieved Curtis Ambrose Simmons embraced family members, friends and his lawyers, Mr. John Perry QC and Mr. Delroy Duncan, after the verdicts were handed down.

"Oh, I'm just so happy!'' exclaimed Simmons' mother as she hugged Mr. Duncan.

On Tuesday, the jury was instructed by Puisne Judge the Hon. Mrs. Justice Wade to find the 29-year-old not guilty of importation because there was insufficient evidence to convict him of that offence.

The four-man, eight-woman jury needed only one hour and 20 minutes to unanimously find Simmons not guilty of possessing cannabis with intent to supply and handling it with intent to supply.

An unidentified member of the public gallery received a warning from Justice Wade for crying out in relief when the jury foreman announced their decision on count two -- the more serious of the remaining charges.

The father-of-one turned to the jury and quietly thanked them after Justice Wade told him he was free to leave the courtroom.

In statements to Police and throughout his eight-day trial, Simmons steadfastly maintained he "was only doing his job'' when he was arrested and that he had no idea boxes contained drugs.

The case centred around almost 700 grams of cannabis which arrived at the Civil Air Terminal on Saturday, February 15, 1992, concealed in two Smith Corona word processors.

Customs officials discovered that each machine contained three parcels of the drug wrapped in duct tape.

Police placed two "dummy'' packages filled with crab grass and shredded paper into each word processor along with one of the original bundles and resealed the boxes for pick-up.

Simmons, who was only supposed to be dropping Federal Express parcels off at the airport that afternoon, was asked to collect some packages from the freight shed by a colleague because his van was already full.

Federal Express supervisor Gavin Kennedy testified no one could have known the word processors were arriving that day because the firm's computer system was down and there was no manifest listing incoming freight.

The court also heard Simmons had only been asked to work that Saturday the day before.

Narcotics officers staking out the shed observed him loading the word processors into his van, and followed him back to the Hamilton offices of Federal Express.

Simmons and his co-worker unloaded their vehicles and sorted the parcels, setting the word processors aside for Monday delivery since they were addressed to a "N. Burgess'' at Busycomm Limited, which was closed.

After the other courier and an officer worker had left, Simmons answered a telephone call from a woman identifying herself as "Mrs. Maxine Burgess'' who said she was looking for "a typewriter''.

He wrote down a description of the woman's residence on a piece of paper which he taped to one of the boxes.

Simmons did not write down a full address, although he recalled it was "either Scott's Hill or Cook's Hill'' in Sandys Parish.

The woman would not give him her telephone number "because it was unlisted'' he said.

After loading the two word processors and other packages into his van, Simmons set out to make his deliveries -- with narcotics officers tailing him.

He said the vehicle was left unlocked and unattended at several locations, and that he had to get out and slam the improperly shut rear door on Deep Dale Road in Pembroke.

The Police officers, who lost track of the vehicle several times, arrested Simmons as he was about to deliver a parcel on the Middle Road in Warwick.

When he was placed in the back of the van for transportation to Hamilton Police Station, the courier noticed one of the word processors was missing.

After his arrival, Simmons had a conversation in the station's enclosed courtyard with the "sting'' operation's senior officer, Det. Insp. George Jackson.

The former courier disputed Police accounts of the exchange, and insisted no notes were taken by any officer while it was taking place.

Police witnesses admitted Simmons was not properly informed of his legal rights until some 20 minutes had elapsed.

Officers also agreed that contrary to standard procedures, he was not shown the "notes'' allegedly taken in the courtyard so he could read, amend or correct them.

FAST SEWER -- Woodlands Playhouse Nursery pupil Phillip Meireles and Mrs.

Irene Seaton ltake part in a needle-and-thread-race at the Westmeath old folks home's annual sports day yesterday.