Another day, another Brit busted for international drug smuggling; this time involving a mum-of-two who has been arrested in Mauritius for (allegedly) packing 14kg of cannabis into her 6-year-old son’s suitcase.
Natashia Artug, 35, from Huntington, Cambridgeshire, was detained alongside seven other people accused of carrying more than 161kg of the drug – worth £1.6 million – in their luggage.
Of course, Natashia claims that she was ‘coerced’ into travelling to Mauritius by people in the drug trade who threatened her and her family.
She also claims that she didn’t know the bags contained cannabis, which I’m not sure adds up? How can you not know you were carrying drugs but also say you were coerced into it? Did other people pack her six-year-old’s suitcase with 14kg of cannabis, rather than his clothes, toys, books etc? Well, I suppose it’s possible.
Natashia’s boyfriend Florian Lisman, a 38-year-old Romanian, was also arrested with 32 drug packages on him.
The other Brits detained were Patrick Lee Wilsdon, 22, Lily Watson, 20, Shannon Ellen Josie Holness 29, Laura Amy Kappen 28, and Shona Campbell, 32, who each had between 30 and 32 packages. That’s a lot of drugs to be collectively carrying on one flight!
All suspects were on the same British Airways flight from London Gatwick to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam airport last month. They’ve all been charged with drug trafficking and remain in custody.<
Mauritian authorities described the use of the child’s luggage to smuggle the drugs as ‘outrageous and inhumane’, adding ‘this is one of the most revolting cases we have encountered in recent years’.
Fortunately, they don’t put six-year-olds in jail for this sort of thing, and the lad has already flown back to the UK to stay with his father, who you imagine will be fuming about the whole thing.
Looks like there’s help on the way for Natashia, though. Justice Abroad has launched a Crowd Justice fundraising campaign to raise £5,000 towards her legal defence

‘She was coerced into travelling to Mauritius with her young son, and to carry the luggage which she did not know contained cannabis, by individuals involved in the drugs trade who took advantage of her vulnerability and made threats to cause serious violence to her and her family if she refused to obey their orders.
‘This case raises serious concerns about the exploitation of a young mother by a criminal gang. She now faces criminal trial in Mauritius separated from her children and without the resources to mount an adequate defence and to put together the evidence of the duress and exploitation which resulted in her being involved in.’
Good luck with that.
For the two girls who were recently caught smuggling 35kg of cannabis from New York to Birmingham, click HERE. Guess what? They got a slap on the wrist.