Mum jets off to drugs charge girl

THE mother of the 16-year-old Tottenham schoolgirl being held in Ghana on drug trafficking charges was set to fly out to be reunited with her daughter this week.

Yasemin Vatansever, of Mount Pleasant Road, Tottenham and her friend Yetunde Diya, also 16, of Islington, are being held in a jail after they were allegedly stopped at Accra airport with £300,000 worth of cocaine in two bags.

Yasemin's mother Zalife is due to attend the teenagers' first court appearance which follows the girls being provisionally charged with offences relating to the attempted trafficking of the drugs.

Catherine Wolthuizen, of Fair Trials Abroad - the organisation which is representing the teenagers - said: "One of the parents is out there just now and we are making arrangements to get the other parents out there at present.

"This has all broken very quickly and it is not the easiest place in the world to get to."

Ms Wolthuizen confirmed that the girls, both pupils at Islington Arts and Media School, were due to appear in court for the first time this week.

She said: "We are getting the charges confirmed and it will be a very preliminary hearing. We don't have the detail confirmed on whether they will be able to plead guilty or not guilty at this hearing."

Ms Wolthuizen said that the organisation had "confidence" that the girls would receive a fair trial in the Ghanaian justice system, and that lawyers were working "on the ground" to make sure they had the best representation possible.

But she warned that the girls were not likely to get home for a long time.

Ms Wolthuizen said: "They have been charged under Ghanaian law for offences alleged to have been carried out in Ghana, so it is not an extradition situation.

"Also, there is no prisoner transfer agreement between Britain and Ghana at this point, so the chances of them coming home before the end of the trial are low, and if convicted the chances of them coming home before the end of the sentence are also low."

The families of the teenagers were said to be under the impression that the girls had gone to a five-day trip to France.

It is claimed that the girls were stopped at Accra airport carrying two bags, each which were stuffed with 7lbs of cocaine.

They have claimed that a man in London paid for their flights to Accra to collect the bags, although Ghanaian police have said they received free flights, a week's holiday and £3,000 to ferry the drugs back to Britain.

Ms Wolthuizen said: "We know from reports that the girls are distressed and shocked, as of course have been their families, but we also understand that the British High Commission has a very high interest in the situation. They are receiving as much support as possible."

Neighbours of Yasemin in Mount Pleasant Road were said to be shocked by the girl's arrest.

Peter Shacolas, 34, a web designer, who has lived in the road for 30 years, said: "She's just a normal little girl - she doesn't do nothing. I've never seen her involved in anything. She's normal like anyone else.

"They've lived here a few years. They're just a nice family. Everyone knows each other; we all speak to each other. It used to be quite a bad community around here but it's alright now.

"I can't imagine her going out there and sorting that out. She doesn't hang around on the street - it's quite a strict family. There are a few kids that run around but she's not one of them.