A Scottish tourist has been arrested and remanded in custody after allegedly trying to fly out of Colombia with nearly two kilos of cocaine in his suitcase.
The 32-year-old, named locally as Ricky Grant Courage, was held at Rafael Nunez International Airport, which serves the Caribbean port city of Cartagena.
Prosecutors said he was planning to return to the UK with the drugs, detected by sniffer dogs put to work on luggage that had already been checked in. Colombian authorities went public with the arrest earlier today.
The suspected drug courier has been remanded in San Sebastian Ternera Prison in Cartagena on the orders of a judge while the investigation against him continues.
It was not immediately clear last night how long he would be held behind bars before being told if and when he is going to be put on trial. Pictures of the bearded Scot in court, wearing a blue T-shirt, have been published by local press.
Colombia’s Public Prosecution Service said in a statement: “The material evidence provided by a prosecutor from the Immediate Reaction Unit (URI) allowed a judge to remand Scottish citizen Ricky Grant Courage, suspected of being responsible for the crime of manufacturing, trafficking or carrying narcotics, in prison.
“His arrest took place on September 29 at Cartagena airport where the 32-year-old foreigner tried to board a flight to Scotland, carrying 1,976 grams of cocaine.
“The illegal substance was detected in the defendant’s suitcase during the police inspection with sniffer dogs carried out on luggage that had already been checked in for international flights.
“Among the foreigner’s personal belongings, six packages covered with black plastic were found. He did not accept his responsibility for the crime he was accused of. By judicial order his confinement will take place in San Sebastián Ternera prison in Cartagena.”
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