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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

(Newser) – 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.

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)
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)
Yasemin Vatansever, 16, covers her head with a sweater as she arrives at the High Court building in Accra, Ghana Wednesday July 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Olivier Asselin)
Yasemin Vatansever, 16, covers her head with a sweater as she arrives at the High Court building in Accra, Ghana Wednesday July 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Olivier Asselin)   (Associated Press)
One of two British girls found guilty of trying to smuggle cocaine out of Ghana covers her head with a piece of fabric as she leaves the courthouse in Accra, Ghana Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Olivier Asselin)
One of two British girls found guilty of trying to smuggle cocaine out of Ghana covers her head with a piece of fabric as she leaves the courthouse in Accra, Ghana Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Olivier...   (Associated Press)
Yasemin Vatansever, 16, covers her head with a sweater as she's led into the High Court building by an unidentified woman in Accra, Ghana, Wednesday July 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Olivier Asselin)
Yasemin Vatansever, 16, covers her head with a sweater as she's led into the High Court building by an unidentified woman in Accra, Ghana, Wednesday July 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Olivier Asselin)   (Associated Press)
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