British mother who smuggled £1.6m of cannabis into Mauritius hidden in her six-year-old son's suitcase faces a year in hellhole prison BEFORE her trial

Daily Mail​

5 days ago

A British mother who is accused of trying to smuggle cannabis into Mauritius inside her six-year-old son's suitcase is being held in a notorious hell hole prison on the holiday island, MailOnline can reveal.
Natashia Artug, 35, faces waiting more than a year on remand in the womens' section of Beau Bassin Central Prison just outside the island capital Port Louis before she is brought to trial.
The jail with around 135 women inmates has been described as being filthy with prisoners often having to spend hours outside 'under the scorching sun'.
Mother-of-two Natashia from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, was arrested with six other Britons and her Romanian boyfriend after they allegedly tried to smuggle 161kgs of cannabis worth £1.6million into Mauritius.
But the authorities are said to be treating her case with particular seriousness because cannabis weighing 14kg was found wrapped in cellophane packages and stuffed inside her six-year-old son's wheelie case.
The shock discovery was made after the group's British Airways flight from Gatwick touched down at the island's Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport last month.
Natashia is being held alongside four other British women Lily Watson, 20, Shannon Ellen Josie Holness, 29, Laura Amy Kappen 28, and Shona Campbell, 32, who are all from Cambridgeshire and were arrested with her, according to local newspaper Le Mauricien.
She was initially held under guard with her son in the headquarters of the Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit in Mauritius so they could be together.
But she is believed to have been transferred to the Beau Bassin Central Prison after her son's father reportedly flew over to collect him and took him back to the UK.
More than half the women in the jail are said to be foreign with the majority serving sentences or on remand for drug offences.
A Human Rights report by the US State Department in 2014 highlighted prison conditions in Mauritius, saying they 'did not always meet international standards' and drug abuse had been reported in jails across the island.
The report said media reports had highlighted a 'lack of hygiene, sanitation, and basic medical care' as 'problems' at Beau Bassin Central Prison.
In a further comment on the jail, it added: 'Given the lack of administrative remedies, inmates' relatives sometimes turned to private radio stations to denounce hygiene conditions or other problems.'
The report did not specify whether the issues related to the womens' section of the jail or the far larger mens' section.
It did, however, describe record keeping in prisons on Mauritius as 'adequate' with inmates able to have visitors, submit complaints and follow religious observance
The report also said there were no reports of threats to life or health, food shortages, poor ventilation, extreme temperatures or lighting problems in the nation's other prison facilities.
A Russian woman whose sister was being held on drug smuggling charges at Beau Bassin Central Prison highlighted her fears about the jail in a Reddit post.
The woman said conditions in the prison were potentially worsening her sister's long standing medical conditions, and her complaints to authorities in Mauritius were being ignored.
She wrote: 'Sometime I can communicate with she (sic), and she always complain on conditions of imprisonment.
'She doesn't have normal access to medicines, clean drinking water. Sanitary conditions are terrible. She often hear verbal harassment and threats, sounds like 'You'll die here'. Abuse on racial prejudice.
'Most of the time the prisoners are in the prison yard under the scorching sun. Foreign prisoners are not allowed to wear hats.'
The Association for the Prevention of Torture based in Geneva, Switzerland, highlighted conditions for women inmates in Mauritius in a more recent report in August last year.
It made a series of recommendations including calls for the renovation of the kitchen with a larger cold room for vegetables and fruits, more fridges, and addition psychiatrists to provide mental health care for inmates
The report also said authorities should provide protective gear such as gloves, aprons and rubber boots for women cleaning shower units.
It further called for more Skype calls to be made available for foreign prisoners to keep in touch with family and friends with 'income generating opportunities' for women to pay for calls.
The UK Government website also talks of prison conditions in Mauritius, saying: 'Imprisonment is generally in small cells with a number of other detainees.
'Mauritius is one of the rare countries where time out of cell is from 6.15am to 5pm. Prison officials will normally speak English to British prisoners.
'Many other detainees can also speak English although most of them will speak in the local language (Creole). While in detention, detainees can have access to the prison library where English books are available.
'All prisons on the island are Human Rights standards compliant. Civil Society and NGOs are widely involved in assisting at prisons. The prison has both an internal and external inspectorate.'
The website added that there were opportunities to work and study in Mauritius prisons with a range of options such as gas welding, metal fabrication, basketry, woodwork, pastry baking. Hairdressing, garment making and beautycare are also available in the womens' prison.
Natashia's Romanian boyfriend Florian Lisman, 38, and window fitter Patrick Wilsdon, 21, of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, who were also arrested at the airport are in a mens' prison.
Mauritian authorities have stated that they believe the group were all acting as drug mules, hired to bring drugs on to the island.
Natashia who is said to be 'vulnerable' claims she was coerced into travelling to Mauritius by drug traffickers who threatened her family.
Non-profit group Justice Abroad said she did not know the bags she was carrying contained cannabis.
She has launched a crowdfunder appealing for £5,000 to fight the serious charges.
Justice Abroad said mother-of-two Natashia suffered from fibromyalgia and was currently attending university.
They added: 'This case raises serious concerns about the exploitation of a young mother by a criminal gang.
'She now faces criminal trial in Mauritius separated from her children and without the resources to mount an adequate defence and to put together the evidence of the duress and exploitation.'
Authorities on Mauritius have branded the use of a child in the audacious drug smuggling plot as 'outrageous and inhumane'. They added: 'This is one of the most revolting cases we have encountered in recent years.'
Patrick's mother Carly Wilsdon previously said that he had gone to Mauritius after being being offered a 'free holiday'.
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.
'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.'
Speaking outside her home last month, 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.'
A Foreign Office spokesman told MailOnline: 'We are supporting a British national detained in Mauritius and are in contact with the local authorities.'