Brit boy, 6, arrested in £1.6m smuggling plot after 14kgs of drugs found stuffed in his case when he landed in Mauritius
The boy was part of a group which had flown to the African island from Gatwick
BOY 'SMUGGLER' Brit boy, 6, arrested in £1.6m smuggling plot after 14kgs of drugs found stuffed in his case when he landed in Mauritius
A SIX-year-old British boy was arrested in Mauritius suspected of smuggling part of a £1.6million dope haul stuffed inside his wheelie case.
The lad was picked up by customs officials along with his mum and five other Brits as they arrived on the tropical island on Sunday.
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The boy has since gone home to his family after the ordeal
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Shannon Holness at court after allegedly being involved in the plot
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Shona Campbell arrives at court
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Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean
Credit: Alamy
Suspicious customs officials swooped at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport and found a whopping 161 kilos of cannabis stuffed into several suitcases belonging to the group, including 14 kilos hidden inside the child's bag.
The boy's mum was also arrested and had 17 kilos hidden in her own bags.
The other Brits arrested included Laura Kappen, 28, a bar worker from Orton Goldhay, Cambs, Shannon Holness, 29, a caterer, from Bretton, Cambs, Shona Campbell, 33, a cleaner from Standground, Cambs, Lily Watson, a caterer from Peterborough, Cambs, and window fitter Patrick Wilsdon, 21, also from Peterborough.
Romanian national, Florian Lisman, 38, a machine operator living in Huntingdon, was also arrested.
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Authorities on Mauritius branded the use of a child in the audacious drug smuggling plot as 'inhumane".
On Wednesday the boy, who had no clue of the drugs in his bag, was flown back to the UK with his dad who came to collect him.
Eleven numbered Apple AirTags found with the massive drugs haul, suggest the group was likely part of an organised crime network responsible for transporting drugs from Europe to Mauritius.
The drugs cache was found during a joint operation by the Customs Anti-Narcotics Section (CANS) and the Anti-Drug & Smuggling Unit (ADSU) at the airport.
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The group had flown into Mauritius on a British Airways flight from London Gatwick last Sunday.
The accused appeared in court in Mahébourg on June 23 and seven remain in custody.
Drugs kingpins guilty of plotting murder and running drugs empire on EncroChat
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'We are supporting several British nationals who are detained in Mauritius and are in contact with the local authorities.'
Accused Patrick's shocked mother Carly Wilsdon said her son had just started work as a window fitter in Peterborough and had gone to Mauritius after being offered a 'free holiday'.
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It was only the second time he had been abroad in his life.
She said: 'He was told it was a free holiday. He wouldn't have known what he was doing because he wouldn't get involved in drugs.
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Shannon Holness, a caterer, was arrested at the airport
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Mauritius is known as a holiday island with beautiful beaches
Credit: Alamy
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'The person who told them about this free holiday is one of his circle of friends but now he has disappeared.
'He told them that he had been before and that they would meet someone there. There was no mention of drugs.
'It is so hard. He could be looking at 30 years. He has never been in trouble and only been abroad once before.
'I missed a call from him on the day they arrived. I thought it was to show me the apartment. I can't believe what's happened.'
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She added: 'We've had no contact with him. He's got lots of issues, he's vulnerable.
'He doesn't know any of the group. He just went there with his girlfriend Lily Watson.'
Speaking outside her home on the outskirts of Peterborough, a relative of Laura Kappen said: 'She is not a bad kid. She's never done anything wrong in her life but I guess she has done something foolish. Someone must have enticed them with money.'
A relative of Shona Campbell said: 'It is really difficult. She's got two little kids and they don't know. It's horrible.'
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Spate of Brit drug arrests worldwide
A SLEW of drug mule cases invovling Brits have emerged in the last few weeks
In April-May, Two other Brit women were arrested abroad for alleged drug smuggling.
Glam tourist Bella Culley allegedly tried to smuggle a suitcase of weed into Georgia and was locked away in a brutal ex-Soviet prison despite claiming to be pregnant.
The 18-year-old was sent to the brutal Women's Penitentiary No. 5 in the town of Rustavi - a slammer notorious for its hellish conditions just outside Tbilisi.
She had originally jetted to the Philippines to meet an old friend, but reportedly changed her plans last minute to go to Thailand with a gang of British lads unknown to her.
A sentence ranging from 20 years to life could be a possibility for teen Bella from County Durham, according to prosecutors.
Meanwhile, former air stewardess Charlotte May Lee was then caught allegedly trying to smuggle drugs worth £1.2million into Sri Lanka.
Her two suitcases were said to have been stuffed with 46kg of a synthetic cannabis strain known as kush — which is 25 times more potent than opioid fentanyl.
If found guilty, South Londoner Charlotte could face a 25-year sentence.
Meanwhile, a young mum is being detained in Germany for allegedly smuggling cannabis in her bags on a flight from Thailand - in yet another shocking case.
Glamorous Cameron Bradford, 21, from Knebworth, Herts, was detained at Munich Airport on April 21 as she tried to collect her luggage.
It comes as a Brit couple claiming to be tourists from Thailand have been busted with more than 33kg of cannabis in their suitcases at a Spanish airport.
The pair were picked out by suspicious cops at Valencia Airport after displaying a 'nervous and evasive attitude' and are now behind bars on drug trafficking charges.
Experts told The Sun how wannabe Brit Insta stars are being lured by cruel gangs into carting drugs across the world.
The drugs bust comes amid a spate of British drug mule arrests in recent months.
Brit Lee Adams, who went missing on Mauritius, was arrested on May 24 on suspicion of smuggling £110,000 worth of cannabis into the East African nation.
Lee, 40, from Yardley, Birmingham, was intercepted as he arrived at the airport and customs officers found 5.75 kilos of cannabis concealed in his suitcase.
According to local news reports Adams, who was confronted with the evidence during an interrogation, admitted his role and was arrested on the spot.
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Investigators immediately launched a "controlled delivery" operation on the holiday island and two suspected accomplices, both believed to be British, were also arrested.
An investigation has been launched and the trio remain in custody.
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At Henderson Local Convenience Store, yards from where Davison killed himself, the owner said her family had been welcomed and supported by locals. "This place lay mostly empty after what he did," she said. "It was briefly a café, then a shop but maybe because everyone remembered what happened, these businesses quickly closed. "We came in from outside. I had to ask a customer why a candle and bouquet of flowers had been left here. That was how I discovered what had happened. "Now we have many customers and they appreciate that we're trying to give them a good service. "Keyham is a good place to live. This is a strong community and it is moving on." 16 Victoria White saw a body lying on the ground after the shooting Credit: Neil Hope
