British teens held in China on suspicion of drug trafficking

Two 16-year-old British girls agreed to carry £300,000 (€440,000) worth of cocaine in suitcases and laptops in return for a paid holiday, British and Ghanaian customs officials said today.

The two girls, both from London, were stopped at the Accra airport by Ghanaian drug officials on July 2 after “behaving suspiciously,” said Beryl St James, a spokeswoman for Britain’s HM Revenue and Customs in London.

Police identified the two as Yasemin Vatansever, 16, the London-born daughter of immigrants from Cyprus, and Yatunde Diya, 16, also a British citizen of Nigerian descent, said Mark Ewuntomah, a spokesman for the Ghana Narcotics Control Board.

Officials said they discovered more than six kilograms of cocaine, which the girls were attempting to carry back to Britain.

What gave them away was the weight of their laptop cases which exceeded the normal weight of a computer, said Ewuntomah. When they were asked to open the case, customs officials found a false compartment, which they cut open to reveal the white powder, he said.

They were met at the Accra airport by two men, who later promised them £3,000 (€4,400) each in return for transporting the drug-stuffed luggage, said Ewuntomah.