Bermuda were sentenced to five and seven years in prison when they appeared in Supreme Court yesterday.

Before passing sentence Chief Justice Mr. Justice Ward said he had considered their guilty pleas, their cooperation with Police and their personal circumstances, but he was left with no other alternative but to recommend a period of imprisonment.

Marlene St. John, 22, and Theresa St. John 18, arrived in Bermuda on April 7, on a flight from New York. Customs officers searched their bags, then, based on certain observations, they subjected both women to personal searches.

Those searches revealed two cylindrical taped packages, contained in condoms.

Marlene St. John's package was found inside her underwear, while Theresa's was concealed inside her vagina.

When analysed, the package found on Marlene St. John was 256.4 grams of 78 percent pure cocaine worth $80,625.

The package found on Theresa was 229.3 grams of 68 percent pure cocaine worth $61,000.

Defence Lawyer Mr. Archie Warner characterised the case as an unfortunate one where drug dealers used fear, coupled with desperate circumstances to lure both women into committing the crime.

Referring to the social inquiry reports, Mr. Warner told the court how poverty followed the sisters from Jamaica to New York where they were living with 13 other family members in a small apartment.

"Theresa was raped twice and had two children before she was 17,'' he said.

"She was pregnant when she arrived and had a miscarriage while in prison. She had attempted suicide once in 1985, when she was nine months pregnant and was raped by her brother-in-law.

"She twice tried to commit suicide in prison in Bermuda in September. The first time she cut both wrists with a razor and on the second occasion she drank a combination of detergent and bleach.

"These circumstances of being caught with drugs and her incarceration were too much for a 17-year-old to bear. She was in financial difficulty because her daughter fell ill and had a hospital bill of over $3,000. She was not entitled to Medicare because of her status in America.'' But Crown Counsel Mr. Brian Calhoun, said that this was a typical courier case where the young women were used because they had believable sympathy stories.

Citing a previous Court of Appeal ruling that stated that judges facing these types of cases should "steel themselves,'' he asked Mr. Justice Ward to return a sentence that would deter both women and others from committing similar crimes.

Before their sentence was passed Marlene St. John apologised to the court.

"Since I have been here I have seen the effects of what drugs do to some of the girls and I feel bad about it -- I have learned a lot. It's been a discipline to me that I can pass on to someone else who may fall into the same trap that I have.'' Her sister Theresa told the court that it was not her desire to come to Bermuda bringing any drugs.

"I accept what happened but I couldn't face it because at that time my child was going to be taken away from me. My only way out was to take my own life. I am deeply sorry for what happened.'' Chief Justice the Hon. Mr. Justice Ward sentenced Marlene St. John to seven years in prison and her sister Theresa to five years in jail. He also recommended that they be given whatever counselling they needed in order to cope with their problems.