Airport officials at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International in Mauritius made a shocking discovery when a six-year-old British boy arrived carrying 14 kilograms of cannabis worth £1.6 million. The child was arrested alongside six British adults who traveled together to the island on Sunday.
Customs officers also found 17 kilograms of cannabis in another passenger’s luggage and a total of 161 kilograms of the drug hidden across several other bags. The discovery of eleven numbered Apple AirTags pointed to a coordinated smuggling operation, possibly run by an organised crime gang transporting drugs from Europe to Mauritius.
The six British adults arrested, all from Cambridgeshire, include Laura Kappen (28), Shannon Holness (29), Shona Campbell (33), Lily Watson, and Patrick Wilsdon (21), along with Romanian national Florian Lisman (38). They appeared in court in Mahébourg on Monday and remain in custody.
Relatives of the accused expressed shock. Carly Wilsdon, mother of Patrick Wilsdon, described her son as vulnerable and unaware of the crime, saying he had been lured by a “free holiday” offer from a friend who has since disappeared.
The young boy has since returned to the UK with his father. Authorities condemned the use of a child as a drug mule as “inhumane.”
This case adds to a recent string of British nationals arrested abroad for drug smuggling, including incidents in Sri Lanka and Georgia.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed it is supporting several British nationals detained in Mauritius and maintaining contact with local authorities.
