Ghana tries British teenagers on drugs charges

ACCRA, July 26 (Reuters) Two teenage British girls went on trial in Ghana today charged with trying to smuggle drugs, but their pleas were kept confidential under the West African country's juvenile laws, a British embassy spokesman said.

Yasemin Vatansever and Yatunde Diya, both 16, were arrested on July 2 at Accra's Kotoka airport after Ghanaian anti-drugs officers said they found six kg of cocaine in two laptop bags they were carrying as they boarded a flight to Britain.

''The charges were formalised and they are one count of possession of a controlled substance and one of attempting to export a controlled substance without a licence,'' British Embassy spokesman Gary Nicholl told reporters outside the court.

''Their pleas were then taken by the court. The trial has begun and has now been adjourned until 3 pm local time,'' he said.

The court sat in closed session and Nicholls said Ghana's juvenile law prevented him from disclosing the pleas.

After their arrest the two girls told British TV they were tricked into carrying the laptop bags by male acquaintances in Ghana and Britain and that they did not know what was in them.

They could face 10 years in a Ghanaian jail if convicted.

Vatansever, wearing jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, and Diya, in a black velour tracksuit, entered the court building in the capital Accra through a rear entrance 20 minutes before the scheduled start of the hearing at 1430 IST.

The pair were ushered out of a different exit 90 minutes later, hiding their faces beneath a length of brightly coloured fabric, and were driven away in a car.

Officers of Ghana's Narcotics Control Board (Nacob) have said the girls were being paid 3,000 pounds (6,000 dollars) each to carry the bags to Britain. They say the men the girls met paid for their flights, accommodation and food in Ghana.

The drugs had an estimated value of 300,000 pounds (600,000 dollars) on British streets.

Ghanaian police have said they are looking for three men, one in Britain and two in Ghana, in connection with the case.

The teenagers were arrested under Operation Westbridge, a project set up by Britain and Ghana to tackle drug smugglers using Accra airport as a gateway to Britain and Europe.

West Africa has become an important staging post for Colombian cocaine on its way to lucrative European markets.

REUTERS PD HS1749