A 91-year-old could become the world's oldest drug trafficker after being charged with smuggling £1million worth of cocaine.
But the case of Victor Twartz, a
retired surgeon from Sydney, Australia, has prompted police to warn travellers
to be wary of becoming unwitting drugs mules.
Twartz faces a possible life
sentence if he is convicted of bringing 4.5 kilogrammes of cocaine, hidden in
soap bars, into Sydney Airport on a flight from New Delhi, India.
A search of Twartz's luggage found 27 packages of soap which tested positive for cocaine.
Sold in individual grams, the
drugs could fetch up to £1million on the street.
Twartz told Australian
Broadcasting Corporation he had met people in New Delhi whom he had befriended
online.
As he was about to board his plane
to return to Sydney, he said he was handed a bag that he was told contained
gifts for someone in Australia.
As Twartz left court, a reporter
asked if he had been taken advantage of.
He replied: "Always,
always."
Police have not said whether
Twartz was an unwitting drug courier but Australian Federal Police manager
Wayne Buchhorn warned that unwittingly bringing drugs into Australia could
result in charges.
No comments:
Post a Comment