Ethiopia arrests Briton over drugs hidden in lamps

ADDIS ABABA, Dec 24 (Reuters) Ethiopian authorities have arrested a British man they said was trying to fly out of the country with eight kg of cannabis hidden in lampshades, the state-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) has reported.

The man was detained yesterday at Bole International Airport near the capital Addis Ababa, Dejene Bekele, the head of Ethiopia's drug control service, told ENA.

''The suspect was arrested while trying to smuggle the cannabis out of the country by hiding it in four traditionally made lampshades,'' Dejene was quoted as saying.

He said the man bought the drugs in Shashemene, a town some 240 km from Addis that was granted to followers of the Rastafarian faith by Ethiopia's late emperor Haile Selassie.

REUTERS DKA PM1752