SUSPECTED 'DRUG MULE' STAYS IN CUSTODY

The man has been detained at Gatwick for two weeks Customs and Excise
officials have won the right to continue detaining a man suspected of
having packages of cocaine inside his body.

The suspect, who has been charged with drug smuggling, has already been
held for more than a fortnight.

He has been kept in a paper suit in a special custody unit at London's
Gatwick airport since his arrest on 22 May.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is a British national in
his late 20s and was returning from Jamaica when he was arrested at Gatwick.

The High Court heard he has refused to eat, or to have an X-ray taken, and
so far has not had a bowel movement throughout his period of detention.

His lawyers applied for a writ of habeas corpus to free him from custody on
the grounds that the legal deadline for holding him had been exceeded.

But, in the first High Court ruling of its kind, two senior judges decided
customs officers could continue to hold the man while nature took its course.

'Draconian Power'

His lawyer, Maya Sikand asked for permission to launch a further appeal to
the House of Lords.

She said the court's ruling gave customs "a draconian power" to hold
suspects in drugs cases "for an eternity".

Detention was in oppressive conditions which involved wearing a paper suit
while under 24-hour-a-day surveillance and with no access to visitors
except lawyers, she said.

Consecutive Remands

Lord Justice Pill, sitting with Mr Justice Silber, refused permission for
leave to appeal.

Earlier the judge described how the suspect had been remanded in custody by
Crawley magistrates in West Sussex on three consecutive occasions under the
1988 Criminal Justice Act.

The legislation gives courts powers to order the detention of drug
trafficking suspects for up to 192 hours.

The suspect was arrested at Gatwick on 22 May and held in custody until 25
May, when he was charged at Crawley magistrates court with the importation
of cocaine and remanded in custody for a further five-day period.

Two further remands followed, one for four days and the second for another
five days.

Challenge Rejected

Ms Sikand argued that the 192 hours was a "once-and-for-all" period for
holding suspects, and magistrates did not have the power to remand on
different occasions if the cumulative period was in excess of 192 hours.

Rejecting the challenge, the judge said the court had to look at the
purpose of the law, which was to combat the problem of "swallowers".

The drug smugglers attempt to avoid detection at the point of entry into
the country by swallowing packages of drugs in containers, such as condoms.

The "swallowers" or "mules" retrieve them later after they had passed
through the body.

The judge said he could see no reason why further remand applications,
which meant the total period in custody exceeded 192 hours, should not be
made provided magistrates observed the legal safeguards contained in the
legislation.