British man ‘had cocaine concealed inside Bible’
A MAN caught smuggling cocaine hidden inside a children’s Bible is one of two Britons facing up to eight years behind bars in Peru.
Terence Smith, 61, was stopped by police at Jorge Chavez Airport in Lima on July 7 and found with more than £250,000 worth of cocaine concealed in his bags – including some hidden in children’s books.
William Laing, 60, who was arrested separately on June 2 at the same airport, had £130,000 of cocaine stuffed in the padding of his backpack and in the lining of coats he had agreed to carry.
The two men, who are not thought to know each other, had 10kg (22lb) of the drug between them and told police they were in South America to pick up multi-million-pound lottery wins.
Both have pleaded not guilty to smuggling charges and are awaiting trial. If found guilty by a judge, they face between six years eight months and eight years in jail.
Colonel Alfredo Velarde, of the Peruvian Anti-Drug Police in Lima, said: ‘Drug gangs are now using elderly people and fooling them into carrying loads of cocaine.
‘When they are caught they are very surprised and we can tell they are very confused about what they are carrying. We have reasons to believe the men didn’t know they were really carrying drugs.’
He added: ‘The state will still charge them and prosecute according to law because each person is responsible for what they carry.’
Smith, a driver from Pontypridd, South Wales, was detained with 6.6kg (14lb) of cocaine. He had a certificate for $25million (£19million), apparently for a lottery win.
He claimed he was told that to receive the money he had to travel to Colombia to sign a certificate.
Laing, a store keeper from Yorkshire, was arrested with 3.4kg (7.4lb) of cocaine. He also said he travelled to collect a lottery prize.
The Foreign Office said: ‘Our staff are in contact with their families and Peruvian authorities.’