UK girls in Ghana court over drugs

The two British teenage girls accused of trying to smuggle drugs from Ghana to the UK have appeared in court.

Yasemin Vatansever(pictured) and Yatunde Diya, both 16, were arrested on July 2 at Accra airport as they tried to leave the country.

They were allegedly found with £300,000-worth of cocaine but insisted they had been set up.

Last Thursday they were provisionally charged with illegal possession of drugs and attempting to smuggle more than 6kg (13lb) of cocaine into the UK.

Sabine Zanker, from Fair Trials Abroad, said the pair from north London appeared in camera at a juvenile court in Accra.

They were not formally charged and did not enter a plea but their trial is expected to begin next Thursday.

She said she was pleased the case was being processed so quickly: "The lawyer in Ghana has reached an agreement to have the trial expedited, which is in the girls' interest. Their welfare is, of course, our priority.

"It will be a struggle to prepare the defence in that time but it is in their best interests."
If found guilty, it is understood they could face up to 10 years in jail.
Miss Vatansever is the London-born daughter of immigrants from Cyprus, while Miss Diya, 16, is a British citizen of Nigerian descent. They claim they were set up to carry the drugs back to London.

GNA Version

Accra, July 18, GNA - Two British teens who were arrested at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on July 2 with some six kilograms of cocaine on them were on Wednesday brought to a juvenile court in Accra. The two were put before the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal on July 6 for possessing narcotic drugs without lawful authority and attempted exportation of narcotics drugs.
When the two girls aged 16 years were brought before a three-member panel on the same charges on Wednesday, their pleas were reserved for the formal hearing, which is scheduled to start on July 26. The defence and prosecution counsel in the case sat through the 45-minute trial, which was behind closed doors.
Speaking to journalists later, Mrs Evelyn Keelson, a state attorney, said the prosecution prayed for a week's adjournment to complete investigations.
The court therefore adjourned the matter to July 26. The defence team is made up of Mr Wisdom Atonio and Mr Paul Opoku. Dozens of journalists who thronged the court were not allowed to sit in.
The girls were escorted in and out of the court under heavy protection, particularly, from the media cameras. The girls, who lived in London, arrived at Kotoka International Airport at 2030 hours on July 2, to board a British Airways flight back to London.
While going through departure formalities, personnel of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) at KIA searched their laptop bags and found white substance, later confirmed to be cocaine by the Ghana Standards Board, according to Mr Mark Ewuntomah, acting deputy executive secretary of NACOB.
During interrogation, the girls admitted ownership.
In their investigation caution statements they alleged that one Farham Timothy, alias Fire, sent them to Ghana to meet one Kwame and Emmanuel for the laptop bags containing the substances to be brought to him for a fee of 6,000 pounds.

The two British teenage girls accused of trying to smuggle drugs from Ghana to the UK have appeared in court.

Yasemin Vatansever(pictured) and Yatunde Diya, both 16, were arrested on July 2 at Accra airport as they tried to leave the country.

They were allegedly found with £300,000-worth of cocaine but insisted they had been set up.

Last Thursday they were provisionally charged with illegal possession of drugs and attempting to smuggle more than 6kg (13lb) of cocaine into the UK.

Sabine Zanker, from Fair Trials Abroad, said the pair from north London appeared in camera at a juvenile court in Accra.

They were not formally charged and did not enter a plea but their trial is expected to begin next Thursday.

She said she was pleased the case was being processed so quickly: "The lawyer in Ghana has reached an agreement to have the trial expedited, which is in the girls' interest. Their welfare is, of course, our priority.

"It will be a struggle to prepare the defence in that time but it is in their best interests."
If found guilty, it is understood they could face up to 10 years in jail.
Miss Vatansever is the London-born daughter of immigrants from Cyprus, while Miss Diya, 16, is a British citizen of Nigerian descent. They claim they were set up to carry the drugs back to London.

GNA Version

Accra, July 18, GNA - Two British teens who were arrested at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on July 2 with some six kilograms of cocaine on them were on Wednesday brought to a juvenile court in Accra. The two were put before the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal on July 6 for possessing narcotic drugs without lawful authority and attempted exportation of narcotics drugs.
When the two girls aged 16 years were brought before a three-member panel on the same charges on Wednesday, their pleas were reserved for the formal hearing, which is scheduled to start on July 26. The defence and prosecution counsel in the case sat through the 45-minute trial, which was behind closed doors.
Speaking to journalists later, Mrs Evelyn Keelson, a state attorney, said the prosecution prayed for a week's adjournment to complete investigations.
The court therefore adjourned the matter to July 26. The defence team is made up of Mr Wisdom Atonio and Mr Paul Opoku. Dozens of journalists who thronged the court were not allowed to sit in.
The girls were escorted in and out of the court under heavy protection, particularly, from the media cameras. The girls, who lived in London, arrived at Kotoka International Airport at 2030 hours on July 2, to board a British Airways flight back to London.
While going through departure formalities, personnel of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) at KIA searched their laptop bags and found white substance, later confirmed to be cocaine by the Ghana Standards Board, according to Mr Mark Ewuntomah, acting deputy executive secretary of NACOB.
During interrogation, the girls admitted ownership.
In their investigation caution statements they alleged that one Farham Timothy, alias Fire, sent them to Ghana to meet one Kwame and Emmanuel for the laptop bags containing the substances to be brought to him for a fee of 6,000 pounds.