Bail boost for British drug suspect - Court reduces reporting days

A British woman who was reportedly held with eight and a half pounds of cocaine at Sangster International Airport had one of her bail conditions adjusted during her latest appearance in the St James Parish Court on Monday.

Venisha Nelson-Roberts is charged alongside fellow British national Shelly Bing for possession of, dealing in, and attempting to export cocaine. She will now be required to report to the police three days a week instead of four, following an application by her lawyer, Michael Hemmings, before presiding Parish Judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton.

During the application to vary her bail conditions, Hemmings also asked for his client to be allowed to travel overseas, as she is a student of the Open University in England and is caring for her father who is in poor health. However, Judge Fairclough-Hylton asked for certain documentation from the university.

"Based on my very limited knowledge of the Open University, it offers flexibility, and that is really why it is an 'open university,' so you can do part-time and online study. I would need something from the university saying that she must attend in person to continue her studies," she said. The court was also told that a corroborating officer's statement is now on file, but that the forensic certificate is outstanding. Nelson-Roberts and Bing subsequently had their bails extended to October 10, when the application to vary Nelson-Roberts' bail conditions will continue with the requested documentation from the Open University.

Allegations are that, on August 16, Nelson-Roberts and Bing were checking in at the airport to board a flight to the United Kingdom when airport personnel observed them behaving in a suspicious manner. The police were contacted and both women were searched. Packages of a substance identified as cocaine were found in their luggage. They were subsequently arrested and charged.