Drug smuggling charge Britons in court

A British couple and a teenage girl are due in a Jamaican court charged with attempting to smuggle cocaine.

Andrea Henry, 39, and Toni Bellamy, 17, of Ettington Avenue, Park End in Middlesbrough - believed to be mother and daughter - and Wayne Walshaw, 32, of Saltburn in Cleveland were arrested at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.

They were due to board a flight to Manchester when they were detected under the Operation Airbridge initiative.

The two women were caught allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine internally.

All three are also suspected of swallowing packages of cocaine, said a spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

They are in the custody of the Jamaican authorities and will appear before a court in Montego Bay.

Tony Walker, director of border force intelligence and national operations at the UK Border Agency, said: "The use of such young people in smuggling drugs demonstrates the ruthless nature of those criminal gangs involved in the illegal narcotics trade and the misery they cause.

"The dedication of UK and Jamaican drug detection officers has prevented deadly Class A drugs from entering the UK."

The Operation Airbridge project was set up to catch drug smugglers using the Caribbean island as a gateway to the UK and other European countries.

It was established in 2002 by HMRC and is now run by the UK Border Agency in partnership with the Jamaican authorities.

HMRC said the air courier route from Jamaica, either directly to the UK or in transit through other EU airports, was identified as a specific threat.

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