- The convicted British teenage girls have been released on Thursday morning after serving a year's jail term in the Ghanaian capital Accra.
Yasemin Vatansever and Yatunde Diya, who both turned 17, hailed from North London. They are believed to be descendants of immigrants from Cyprus and Nigeria.
The teenagers's one-year sentence resulted after they were convicted on being in possession of two laptop computer bags containing some 6 kilograms of cocaine at Kotoka airport in Accra. The drugs, worthed about £300,000, were discovered as the teens attempted to board a British Airways flight to London.
They were reported to have duped their parents that they were going to France for a school trip only to be arrested in Ghana on 2 July.
The teens maintained their innocence throughout the trial, claiming to have been set up to carry the illegal substance to the United Kingdom. This claim was vehemently denied by prosecution that insisted that the girls were deeply involved in the illegal smuggling from the start.
In recent times, West Africa has earned a name for being a new trafficking point for drug traffickers.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español