September 18, 2002	Wednesday	Rajab 10, 1423

MANCHESTER: The case against a 13-year-old girl thought to be Britain’s youngest drugs mule collapsed on Monday after a court heard that she was “more sinned against than sinning”.

The teenager from Bradford, West Yorkshire, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested at Manchester airport in April after stepping off a flight from Pakistan with 11kgs of heroin — with an estimated street value of pounds sterling 900,000 (US dollars 1.35m) — concealed in six cushions and a black leather jacket in her luggage.

She was due to be tried at Manchester crown court on a charge of drug smuggling, but the prosecution said it would be inappropriate to continue the proceedings against her and offered no evidence. A formal verdict of not guilty was recorded.

The prosecutor, James Rae, told the court: “There is no doubt that when this child was stopped by an officer of Customs and Excise at Manchester airport on 8 April 2002, she appeared to be travelling alone on a flight from Pakistan.

“Her luggage was found to contain six cushions and a black leather jacket. On examination, each of the cushions and the leather jacket were found to have been adapted in such a way as to conceal a substantial quantity of brown powder in heat sealed plastic bags.”

The total weight of the powder was 11.21kg.

Mr Rae said customs and excise had been gravely concerned as to how these drugs came into her luggage and they never thought she was importing them on her own account.

The defence statement, issued last month, raised the defence of duress and it had been up to the crown [the prosecuting authority] to rebut this claim.

But Mr Rae said: “It has become quite apparent from those inquiries that this child is more sinned against than sinning.

“Allegations that she has made point in the direction of someone with a parental role in her life — albeit most definitely not her natural father or any current associate of his.”

He said it was right that she should leave the court with no stigma attached to her character.

Peter Wright, defending, said the girl remains in the care of a local authority and in secure accommodation. Legal proceedings will determine her future.

After the hearing, the girl’s mother said: “Somebody has put her up to this. Somebody has used her.”—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.