'Cocaine smuggling' British couple's Caribbean hell

Sunday, February 8, 2004

SHEFFIELD, England: A British couple arrested in Guadeloupe for smuggling drugs still have no idea when they will stand trial - a year after being thrown in jail.

According to a report by Sheffield Today, David and Jayne Bladen have been locked up on the French-speaking island of Guadeloupe since January 30, after being caught with 4kgs of cocaine with a street value of $200,000.

David is the only European among 600 Creole French speaking male inmates on an island prison and the couple can only communicate with their families through letters.

David's young brother Derek said he believed they were cocaine addicts who ran up huge debts with 'some seriously heavy people'.

But a year on he was still in the dark about what was going to happen to them.

He added: "They don't know when they are going to stand trial or what kind of sentence they are likely to get. I have heard lots of rumours ranging from them being sent home to serve their sentence to them being kept on that island for ten to 20 years.

"The only saving grace seems to be that the death sentence was abolished there about two years ago.

"I have asked and asked to speak to the British consulate on the island, but it seems he's never available. I just get passed from one office to the other and never seem to get any answers to what is happening with their case.

"I've lost count of the number of times I've left messages and nobody has called me back.

"The whole situation is breaking me down so I can only imagine how David and Jayne are feeling."

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "Our understanding of the French system employed on the island is that they build a case while the defendants are still in detention.

"If the authorities believed they have enough evidence they will bring the case before a court.

"Both David and Jayne Bladen undergo reviews of their case every four months and this process can last for two years.

"There have been no recent developments in their situation." 

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