8 hours ago
Six-year-old British boy is arrested on suspicion of DRUG SMUGGLING in Mauritius 'after £1.6million of cannabis is found in his luggage'
Airport officials swooped on a six-year-old British boy after £1.6million of cannabis was found in his luggage after arriving in Mauritius.
The youngster was arrested alongside six other British citizens who had travelled to the tropical Indian Ocean island on Sunday.
Customs officials at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport were stunned to discover 14 kilos of cannabis concealed in the young boy's bag and 17 kilos in luggage belonging to another individual.
They have condemned the use of the child as a drugs mule as 'inhumane', according to The Sun.
Altogether, 161 kilos of the drug were found hidden throughout several other suitcases.
Eleven numbered Apple AirTags were also discovered, suggesting the operation may have been linked to an organised crime gang responsible for smuggling drugs from Europe to Mauritius.
The six arrested British adults - all from Cambridgeshire - included Laura Kappen, 28, a bar worker from Orton Goldhay, Shannon Holness, 29, a caterer, from Bretton, Shona Campbell, 33, a cleaner from Standground, Lily Watson, a caterer from Peterborough and window fitter Patrick Wilsdon, 21, also from Peterborough.
Romanian national, Florian Lisman, 38, a machine operator living in Huntingdon, was additionally arrested.
The youngster has since returned to the UK with his father, who flew out to Mauritius to collect him.
On Monday, the seven arrested men and women appeared in court in Mahébourg and remain in custody.
The drugs were discovered as part of a joint operation between the Customs Anti-Narcotics Section (CANS) and the Anti-Drug & Smuggling Unit (ADSU) at the airport.
Shocked relatives have said they 'can't believe what's happened' after being alerted to the arrests.
Carly Wilsdon, mother of Patrick Wilsdon, said her son was 'vulnerable' and had only been abroad once before. It is believed he was offered a 'free holiday' to Mauritius.
She said: 'He wouldn't have known what he was doing because he wouldn't get involved in drugs.
'The person who told them about this free holiday is one of his circle of friends but now he has disappeared.'
The incident is the latest in a spate of British citizens arrested abroad accused of smuggling drugs, including former air stewardess Charlotte Lee, who was arrested in May in Sri Lanka, after £1.15million worth of cannabis was allegedly found in her luggage, and Bella May Culley, 18, who was intercepted by police in Georgia for allegedly smuggling cannabis.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'We are supporting several British nationals who are detained in Mauritius and are in contact with the local authorities.'
