Yorkshire woman to appear in Caribbean court on cocaine charge

Pauline Edwards, 49, of Well Grove, Sheepridge, Huddersfield, is due to appear in court in the Caribbean country today after being charged with unlawful possession, intent to transfer and attempting to export the contraband.

She was stopped by narcotics police as she passed through the VC Bird International Airport in Antigua in May.

She was arrested on suspicion of cocaine exportation and was x-rayed at a medical centre on the island. The x-ray is said to have revealed foreign bodies and the paper reported that she was given a form of laxative to allow her to pass the foreign objects spotted during the scanning.

Once all 88 pellets were excreted and examined, it is alleged they contained the class A drug cocaine.

Edwards was charged with breaching the drug laws of Antigua and Barbuda at the end of her two-week stay in the country.

She is due to stand before the country’s courts again next month. A trial date had not been fixed and due to the serious nature of the alleged offence, the case will be transferred to the country’s High Court.

Edwards, who originally comes from Jamaica, now lives in Sheepridge with her grown-up son.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We can confirm the detention of a British national, Pauline Edwards, in Antigua. We are providing consular assistance.”

The former UK colony became independent in 1981 but is still associated with the Commonwealth.