Birmingham duo arrested in Zimbabwe on suspicion of drug trafficking
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info
Get the latest Wales Online breaking news on WhatsApp
Two British nationals reportedly from Birmingham have been arrested in Zimbabwe on suspicion of drug trafficking.
The pair were arrested on May 1 at Robert Mugabe International Airport after authorities reportedly discovered a large quantity of cannabis.
According to state prosecutors, the accused pair arrived in the African country aboard an Ethiopian Airways flight.
Read More Harborne Carnival cancelled over 'national threat' and 'stringent requirements'
Upon collecting luggage from the carousel, they were summoned to the customs searching bay.
Across four suitcases, 129 packets of cannabis was discovered worth an estimated street value of £506,499.
The drugs were seized by authorities and weighed 66.9kg.
After being arrested, the British citizens appeared before the Harare Magistrates Court on May 3 and will be remanded in custody until May 15.
It is reported the nationals are facing charges of unlawful possession of dangerous drugs.
People found in possession of cannabis in Zimbabwe can face up to 12 years in prison.
The pair will be expected back in court on May 15 when the court will make its ruling regarding a bail application.
A spokesperson for the British Embassy in Zimbabwe said: "We are in contact with the local authorities following the arrest of two British nationals in Zimbabwe."
You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive on WhatsApp.
Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in the region.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
37 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Brits among 9,000 migrants to be sent to Guantanamo in Trump plan to make notorious terror prison a vast detention site
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BRITS are among the 9,000 migrants set to be sent to the infamous Guantanamo Bay in President Donald Trump's plan to make its notorious terror prison a detention site. The first transfers are set to begin within a matter of days as the Trump administration dramatically ramps up its vast crackdown on illegal immigration. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 10 President Donald Trump plans to make Guantanamo's notorious terror prison a detention site Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 10 The first plane of detained migrants arriving at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay on February 4 Credit: AFP 10 Trump said he planned to detain 'criminal illegal aliens' at the notorious Guantanamo Bay military prison Credit: AFP 10 At the start of the year, the US President announced his plans to send up to 30,000 illegal immigrants to detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters at the time that 'the White House is currently working on [using] resources we currently have in Guantanamo Bay' to increase the number of beds for 'the worst of the worst.' 'We're already doing it,' Noem said. 'We're building it out.' The notorious Cuban camp was previously used as a military prison for those captured during George W Bush's "war on terror" after the heinous 9/11 attacks. read more news ELON SECOND THOUGHT Musk says he 'REGRETS' some of his bitter attacks on Trump after X row This week alone, at least 9,000 people are being identified for a potential transfer to the prison as early as Wednesday, according to documents seen by Politico. Roughly a whopping 800 Europeans are on the list of potential Guantanamo detainees - including British and French citizens, the Washington Post reports. Currently roughly 500 migrants have been held at the jail dubbed "Gitmo" for short periods of time in the past few months. According to the Trump administration, it works as a pit stop on the way to being deported to the country those being held came from. The bombshell move represents the administration's further toughening on immigration policy. Critics say the Guantanamo threat works to deter new illegal immigrants from entering the US whilst also encouraging those already in the country to self-deport. The Sun visits Guantanamo Bay One State Department official told Politico: "The message is to shock and horrify people, to upset people - but we're allies." But the deportation plans don't come without legal challenges. A court in Washington is considering a plea to outlaw the use of Guantanamo to house migrants as the American Civil Liberties Union claims they are being held in horrific conditions. Detainees are apparently kept in a rat-infested camp, served inadequate food and denied the weekly change of clothing. Detainees once endured sleep deprivation, waterboarding, and extreme temperature exposure as part of the CIA's 'enhanced interrogation' program. One of the most infamous detainees, Abu Zubaydah, was waterboarded 83 times and kept in a coffin-sized box for hours on end. While the camp once held nearly 800 suspected terrorists, that number has dwindled to just 15, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks. The last remaining detainees exist in a legal limbo, held indefinitely as the US struggles to either prosecute, transfer, or release them. 10 U.S. Navy sailors and Coast Guardsmen erect expeditionary shelter tents Credit: via REUTERS 10 Trump's border czar Tom Homan said the administration would expand the capacity of the hellhole facility as the military planned to put up temporary tents Credit: Reuters 10 The first USmilitary aircraft to carry detained migrants to a detention facility at Guantanamo Bay Credit: Reuters The ACLU accused the Trump administration of using Guantanamo "to frighten immigrants, deter future migration, induce self-deportation, and coerce people in detention to give up claims against removal and accept deportation elsewhere". The US Justice Department vehemently denied the claim, telling the court that Guantanamo is solely used as a temporary stop. Nine Brit citizens were previously held in Guantanamo in 2004, of which five were repatriated. And nine more people who had residency status in the UK but not citizenship were also held at the camp. Trump's border czar Tom Homan previously said the administration would expand the capacity of the hellhole facility. He said: "We're just going to expand upon that existing migrant center." Meanwhile Noem shared images of migrants arriving at the Guantanamo facility. She wrote on social media: "President Donald Trump has been very clear: Guantanamo Bay will hold the worst of the worst. "That starts today." The prison has cost US taxpayers over $6 billion to operate, with an annual budget of $540 million — roughly $13 million per prisoner. A dedicated medical wing, staffed by doctors, psychiatrists, and even dentists, exists to prevent detainees from dying in custody, ensuring they remain locked away indefinitely. What is Guantanamo Bay? By Juliana Cruz Lima, Foreign News Reporter GUANTANAMO Bay has long been synonymous with human rights abuses, indefinite detention, and controversial interrogation techniques. First opened in 2002 by George W. Bush in the wake of 9/11, the high-security facility became a legal black hole. There, suspects could be held without trial, subjected to brutal conditions, and interrogated using 'enhanced techniques'—a euphemism for torture. The prison complex, located on Cuban soil but under US control, is a fortress of isolation. Guard towers loom over the razor-wire fences, motion-activated searchlights sweep the perimeter, and cameras monitor every inch of the facility. Inside, detainees — most clad in orange jumpsuits — have spent decades in concrete cells measuring just 6.8 square feet, often with nothing but a thin mattress, a metal toilet, and a small slit for daylight. Prisoners have been force-fed through nasal tubes during hunger strikes, shackled in stress positions for hours, and subjected to psychological torment. Detainees once endured sleep deprivation, waterboarding, and extreme temperature exposure as part of the CIA's 'enhanced interrogation' program. Prisoners are separated into camps based on their perceived threat level. The most notorious detainees are housed in Camp 5 and Camp 7, which are maximum-security units where prisoners are kept in near-total isolation. Others are held in Camp 6, where detainees live communally but are still closely monitored. Camp X-Ray, the original makeshift site of the prison, was shuttered years ago, but its haunting images of hooded detainees kneeling behind barbed wire remain a symbol of Guantanamo's dark legacy. 10 US Marines heading to the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay Credit: Reuters 10 US Army soldier walking at unused common detainee space in 'Camp 6' detention facility at the US Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay Credit: AFP
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Mystery as Brit wine tycoon found dead in luxury villa after car rally
British wine tycoon Tarik Wildman, 65, was found dead at his luxury villa in Marbella's gated La Virginia complex just hours after returning from a classic car rally A British businessman who ran a successful wine business has been found dead at his luxury villa in Spain. Tarik Wildman, 65, was discovered by a close friend on Sunday at his villa in Marbella 's La Virginia complex, a gated community home to some of the wealthiest people on the island. He had returned just hours earlier from a car rally in Italy. Tarik's friend said that his death was believed to be of natural causes, but that his family were awaiting the results of an autopsy. Mr Wildman had inherited his multi-million fine wine business from his dad Frederick Wildman Jnr, whose father, Frederick Wildman Snr, started the venture in the 1950s. The company specialises in importing wines and champagne from France to the US. Tarik was well known in the local community as a vintage car enthusiast, and had returned from the Team Shh rally he ran in Italy on the day he was found dead in Spain. In his very final appearance, he was seen driving a Lancia Flamina, a high-end Italian car from the mid-20th century. The Classic and Sports Car Club of Andalucia wrote in a tribute: "He had just returned from organising and running his Team Shh rally in Italy which he had done in his beautiful Lancia Flamina, a car he loved. "He died peacefully in his sleep but, at this moment, the cause is not known. He had amazing friends all over the world, had competed in the Monte Carlo Classic rally and had a depth of knowledge of all things that always astonished me." Another friend wrote on Facebook: "Thank you for being a stand up kind and generous friend, host extraordinaire, creator, planner, navigator and pilot to the most fun adventures and Team Shhhh rallies. "I am going to miss you, and the days and nights spend cooking, talking, drinking, driving and telling stories at your Marbella "La Virginia" and Casa Hombre Salvaje center of the universe of all things fun. "Capileira that little house above the clouds you loved so much and took all of your friends so we could love it too. Grateful for all the cast of characters now friends you introduced me too. You always wanted all of us to be friends. You leave behind a beautiful family - a bigger than life legacy."
Wales Online
2 hours ago
- Wales Online
British trio facing death penalty over Angel Delight cocaine plot
British trio facing death penalty over Angel Delight cocaine plot The three face the death penalty for 'smuggling cocaine in sachets of Angel Delight' into Indonesia Phineas Ambrose Float, Jonathan Christopher Collyer and Lisa Ellen Stocker (Image: AFP via Getty Images ) Three British people are facing the death penalty after being accused of smuggling nearly a kilogram of cocaine into Indonesia in Angel Delight sachets. Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 38, and Lisa Ellen Stocker, 39, were stopped and arrested by officials at an X-ray machine at customs in Bali on February 1. The X-ray machine had highlighted suspicious items in their luggage disguised as food packages, said prosecutor I Made Dipa Umbara. The alleged drug smugglers came into court wearing the bright red waistcoats defendants are forced to wear during trials in Indonesia. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here The District Court in Denpasar heard that lab tests revealed that 10 sachets of Angel Delight powdered dessert mix in Collyer's luggage combined with seven similar sachets in his partner's suitcase contained 993.56 grams of cocaine, worth an estimated six billion rupiah (£272,000), The Mirror reports. Phineas Ambrose Float, 31, was arrested after a controlled operation which saw the other two suspects hand the drug to him in a hotel car park in Denpasar, the court was told. He is being tried separately. As he was led into court to face the drug charges against him, Float told journalists to "f*** off". He was brought to Denpasar Central Court in Bali in a prison van, wearing a white shirt and red prison vest with his wrists in shackles. Article continues below He hurled abuse at the gathered media as he was taken to a holding cell but was then seen in court smiling at Collyer. The drugs were flown into Indonesia from England via Doha international airport in Qatar, Mr Umbara told the court. The group had got past Indonesian authorities twice before, but were caught on this third attempt, Ponco Indriyo, the deputy director of the Bali Police Narcotics Unit said. The charges against the three were read out in court before a panel of three judges adjourned the trial until June 10 when the court will hear witness testimony. Float was previously jailed in the UK for armed robbery and drug dealing. In 2012, Float - then aged 19 - was sentenced to a year in jail after being caught with mephedrone hidden in his sock. He had been trying to get into the Sugar Mill nightclub in Hull city centre when security at the door stopped and searched him. He had hidden 35 bags of the Class B drug, better known as M-Cat or Meow Meow, in his sock, which had a street value said to be £216. He also had £105 in cash on him. Float, who was of no fixed address at the time, later pleaded guilty at Hull Crown Court to possession with intent to supply a Class B controlled drug and failing to provide a sample on suspicion of taking a Class A drug. He was still on licence at the time having been released from prison halfway through a sentence for armed robbery, and was told to go back to jail to serve the remainder, along with 12 months for the drugs charges Around 530 people, including 96 foreigners, are reported to be on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related offences. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said Indonesia, which has some of the strictest drug laws in the world, is a drug smuggling centre. International drug gangs are said to target the nation's young population. Those found guilty of drug smuggling face long jail terms or, in some cases, execution by firing squad. The last executions of an Indonesian and three foreigners were carried out in July, 2016. British woman Lindsay Sandiford was arrested in Indonesia in 2012 when 3.8 kilograms of cocaine was found inside the lining of her luggage at Bali's airport. Now aged 69, Sandiford has been on death row for more than a decade. Her death sentence was upheld by Indonesia's highest court in 2013. Article continues below The Mirror reported that Stocker had been transferred to Bali's Kerobokan jail - the same hell-hole jail where pensioner Sandiford has spent more than 12 years awaiting execution for smuggling cocaine. A source told the paper: "Stocker was moved to Kerobokan and placed in isolation as all new prisoners. Over recent weeks she has slowly been released into mainstream jail life and is due to be assigned a room. It means Sandiford has a new country person."
