Ghana court convicts UK teenage girls over drugs

A court in Ghana on Wednesday found two British teenage girls guilty of smuggling cocaine in the West African country, the prosecuting lawyer said.

Sentencing was deferred until December 5, lawyer Evelyn Keelson told Reuters. The two girls, both aged 16, face up to three years in jail.

Yasemin Vatansever and Yatunde Diya were arrested on July 2 at Accra's Kotoka airport after Ghanaian anti-drugs officers said they found 6 kg (13 lbs) of cocaine in two laptop bags the girls were carrying as they boarded a flight to Britain.

The girls, who had pleaded not guilty, initially told British TV after their arrest 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.

Ghanaian police investigators said a Ghanaian man had promised the two cash and a paid holiday if they successfully delivered the cocaine to London.

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.