Court takes pleas of UK 'drug' teens

Accra, July 26, GNA - A juvenile court on Thursday took the pleas of two 16-year-old British girls arrested on July 2 at the Kotoka International Airport for attempted smuggling of narcotic drugs, as their trial began.

Mr. Gary Nicholls, Press Officer of the British High Commission, told reporters that he could not disclose what their pleas were.

Mr Nicholls said the charges of the teens, namely attempted exportation of narcotic drugs and possession narcotic drugs without authority, had now been formalised.

According to him the prosecution opened its case before the Juvenile Court made up of a three-member panel.

The juvenile court is expected to sit again at 1500 on Thursday today.

One of the girls is said to be of Nigeria-descent with a British passport, while the other is a British of Cypriot-descent. They were about to board a British Airways flight when they were arrested. In Ghana the maximum sentence for juveniles is a three-year jail term.

According to sources at the Narcotic Control Board at the Kotoka International Airport, one of the girls had 3.1 kilogram of the substance while the second had 3.15 kilogram. The drugs were hidden in their hand luggage.

Meanwhile, a 20-year-old Romanian woman, Rotariu Florina, who was arrested as she went through departure formalities to board an Alitalia flight, was also brought to court on Thursday. NACOB sources said Florina had six kilogram of substance suspected to be cocaine in her hand luggage.