SALLIES PLAYER JAILED FOR 7 YEARS

A Gisborne Salvation Army euphonium player who tried to smuggle cocaine out
of Peru has been jailed for seven years in an overcrowded Lima prison.

Band member Robert James Campbell Stewart was caught with 6kg of cocaine at
Lima Airport last June as he tried to leave for Europe.

The 62-year-old builder and father of five was charged with possession of
illegal narcotics with intention to smuggle.

Stewart's arrest stunned his family and shocked fellow Salvation Army
churchgoers in Gisborne.

Captain Neil Waugh said Stewart had been a dedicated volunteer worker who
was always ready to help others. "The whole thing is out of character."

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Emma Reilly said Stewart would likely
serve a third to half of the seven-year, two-month sentence before being
eligible for parole.

Ms Reilly confirmed that he would remain at Lurigancho Prison, where he has
spent nearly a year.

Stewart has thyroid and heart conditions and the ministry arranged for him
to be examined by a doctor, and made sure he received regular medication.

He has been in regular contact with his New Zealand family through letters,
and they have provided him with money so he can afford comforts such as a
mattress and bedding.

The prison, on the outskirts of Lima, has room for 1600 prisoners but
houses an estimated 6000. Humanitarian agencies have described it as a zoo.

Last year, 4000 prisoners refused to return to their cells. They started
burning mattresses and hung banners from the roof calling for better
conditions.

The authorities sent in 1500 riot police to put down the rebellion, with
helicopters used to drop teargas.

A public health consultant for Medecins Sans Frontieres, Hans Veeken, found
frightening conditions when he visited the jail last year.

Prostitution and drug use were rife, he reported. Inmates effectively ran
the prison and could only survive by providing for themselves, using family
money to buy essentials and food.

Mr Veeken said HIV was a time-bomb because unprotected sex was common. On
visiting days prostitutes had sex with about 40 men each.

Medical care was free but in practice prisoners had to buy their way
through every door to reach the clinic, where drugs and supplies were scarce.

Ms Reilly agreed that conditions "weren't that great," but said this was
not uncommon in Latin American prisons and nothing could be done to get
Stewart out because he had been sentenced in Peru.

She said British Embassy officials, who visited the jail monthly, had
assisted Stewart a lot. He also had help through the nearest NZ embassy, in
Santiago, Chile.

A longtime friend said Stewart had got himself into "terrible financial
strife" as the result of a scam.

The friend believed that someone overseas had taken advantage of Mr Stewart
by involving him in drugs.

"Bob wouldn't know a marijuana plant from a geranium."