A 29 year old Filipino tourist was detained for five days on drug charges in Melbourne, when Customs officers mistook powdered iced tea for amphetamines.
Maria Cecelia Silva was detained after a Customs sniffer dog reacted to an iced tea container. Preliminary tests conducted by customs officials returned positive for amphetamines. It was later confirmed that the product was Nestle ice tea and nothing more. Ms Silva has since been released with a court order for the DPP to foot $5,000 in legal fees, but understandably she is considering her options. There could be an action brewing as Ms Silva is understood to be distraught and to have lost a substantial amount of weight while being in custody.
Her lawyer, Mr Penna-Rees said it was understood that there had been problems with similar packets of iced tea in the past. It is not known whether the drug detection dogs prefer Lipton to Nestle.
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Maria Cecelia Silva was detained after a Customs sniffer dog reacted to an iced tea container. Preliminary tests conducted by customs officials returned positive for amphetamines. It was later confirmed that the product was Nestle ice tea and nothing more. Ms Silva has since been released with a court order for the DPP to foot $5,000 in legal fees, but understandably she is considering her options. There could be an action brewing as Ms Silva is understood to be distraught and to have lost a substantial amount of weight while being in custody.
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A lawyer has a little too much iced-tea yesterday |
Her lawyer, Mr Penna-Rees said it was understood that there had been problems with similar packets of iced tea in the past. It is not known whether the drug detection dogs prefer Lipton to Nestle.