A British mother-of-two has been arrested in Mauritius accused of trying to smuggle cannabis inside her six-year-old son’s suitcase.
Natashia Artug, 35, was detained alongside seven other people accused of carrying more than 161 kilograms of the drug – worth £1.6 million – in their luggage.
The boy’s luggage alone is said to have had 24 packages of drugs wrapped in clear cellophane inside weighing 14kg.
Natashia from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, who is ‘vulnerable’, was coerced into travelling to Mauritius by people involved in the drug trade who threatened her and her family, Justice Abroad has said.
She also did not know the bags contained cannabis, the nonprofit added.
Natashia’s partner Florian Lisman, a 38-year-old Romanian, was also arrested and said to be carrying 32 drug packages, an iPhone and £260 pounds.
The other Brits detained were Patrick Lee Wilsdon, 22, Lily Watson, 20, Shannon Ellen Josie Holness 29, Laura Amy Kappen 28, and Shona Campbell, 32, who each had between 30 and 32 packages, according to local newspaper Le Mauricien.
They were all on the same British Airways flight from London Gatwick to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam airport last month. The suspects have all been charged with drug trafficking and remain in custody.
Each suspect carried Apple AirTags, which can be fixed to an item to track its location, and up to £900 in cash.
The trackers – around the size of a 50p piece – are thought to be used by international drug trafficking gangs to help smugglers keep tabs on their shipments.
Mauritian authorities described the use of the child’s luggage to transport the drugs as ‘outrageous and inhumane’, adding ‘this is one of the most revolting cases we have encountered in recent years’.
The boy, who was unaware of the contents of his bag, has reportedly already flown back to the UK and is staying with his father.
Justice Abroad has launched a Crowd Justice fundraising campaign to raise £5,000 towards her legal defence.
The organisers write: ‘Natashia is a single mother of two, who suffers from Fibromyalgia but who attends university and is working to give her children a better future.
‘She was coerced into travelling to Mauritius with her young son, and to carry the luggage which she did not know contained cannabis, by individuals involved in the drugs trade who took advantage of her vulnerability and made threats to cause serious violence to her and her family if she refused to obey their orders.
‘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 which resulted in her being involved in.’
A Foreign Office spokesman told MailOnline: ‘We are supporting a British national detained in Mauritius and are in contact with the local authorities.’
