Teens caught smuggling cocaine
2007-07-12 12:23
London - Two 16-year-old girls from London were arrested in Ghana after being
discovered with an estimated £300 000 (R4.2m) worth of cocaine, customs officials said on Thursday.
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs said in a statement that the
teenagers, both college students, were detained at Accra Airport by
Ghanaian Narcotic Control Board officers working on a joint
British-Ghanaian project targeting drug smugglers.
The head of the Operation Westbridge project, British customs
officer Tony Walker, said: "The use of such young girls as couriers
vividly illustrates the ruthlessness of the criminal drug gangs
involved in this traffic.
"The dedication of UK and Ghanaian drug detection officers has
prevented deadly Class A drugs from entering the UK."
Operation Westbridge was launched in November 2006 to curb a rise in
cocaine smuggling from Ghana.
Britain provides technical and operational expertise to counterparts
in Ghana, including training and use of scanning equipment.
The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime Annual Drug Report 2006
identified West Africa as a key staging post for drugs mules coming to
Britain.