afrol News, 21 November - Two British teenage girls from North London, Yasemin Vatansever and Yatunde Diya, have been found guilty by an Accra juvenile court for attempting to smuggle cocaine from Ghana to the United Kingdom.

The girls, believed to be descendants of immigrants from Cyprus and Nigeria, had duped their parents that they were going for a school trip to France only to be arrested at the Accra Airport on 2 July this year.

They were found in possession of more than 6kg of cocaine worth ₤300,000 Pound Sterling as they tried to board the British Airways flight to London. The drugs were contained in laptop bags.

But the teenagers denied the charges brought against them, claiming that they had been set up to carry the illegal substance to the UK. This was vehemently denied by the prosecution, arguing that the girls were deeply involved in the illegal smuggling from the start.

They are expected to appeal against the verdict.

The court is expected to deliver the sentence on 5 December. The girls could face three years in juvenile detention if the court upholds the guilty verdict.

West Africa has become a new trafficking point for drug traffickers. Most of the drugs are believed to have originated from Colombia through small planes to the region for distribution to Europe where drug prices have soared in recent times.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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