UK Teens Guilty of Cocaine Smuggling in Ghana

16-year-olds may spend three years in detention
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 21, 2007 5:05 PM CST
UK Teens Guilty of Cocaine Smuggling in Ghana
Two British teens accused of attempting to smuggle cocaine to Britain cover their faces as they leave the High Court building in Accra, Ghana, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007. (AP Photo/Olivier Asselin)   (Associated Press)

Two 16-year-olds were found guilty today of attempting to sneak $600,000 of cocaine from Ghana to Britain, the Times reports. The conviction could mean up to three years in a Ghanaian juvenile detention center for the British girls, who claimed they had been set up when they were arrested with the drugs hidden in computer bags at an airport in Accra.

In a four-month trial, the North London teens were charged with drug possession and attempted smuggling of over 13 pounds of cocaine into the country. Narcotics officers say the girls were probably offered $600,000 in London to collect the drugs in Ghana; about  60 such mules are thought to travel that route each week. They will be sentenced on December 5. (More cocaine stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X