A HAMPSHIRE woman is being held by police in Peru on suspicion of a drugs offence, the Foreign Office confirmed today.
Rachel Franklin, from Southampton, was reportedly arrested at the capital Lima's Jorge Chavez Airport on Sunday evening as she attempted to board a flight to Madrid, allegedly carrying nearly 9lb (4kg) of the drug in her baggage.
Full consular assistance is being provided and British officials visited the 20-year-old in custody on Tuesday morning, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.
''I understand that it is on suspicion of a drugs offence,'' she said. ''She has not been charged.'' The spokeswoman added that the Foreign Office was in contact with her next of kin in the UK.
It has been reported that Miss Franklin had just flown into the Peruvian capital from the historic city of Cusco when she was detained at 5pm local time (10pm GMT) on Sunday.
Miss Franklin has not yet been charged, but if found guilty of drug smuggling she could face up to 15 years in jail.
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