7:00am Saturday 31st July 2010
By Dan Hearn
TWO Oxfordshire men are still waiting to go on trial in Peru, more than 15 months after they were accused of trying to smuggle £1m of cocaine out of the South American country.
Nathan Brandon, 21, from Abingdon, and Alan Rae, 39, from Faringdon, were arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle 12.3 kilos of the drug through Lima Airport in April last year.
Foreign Office spokesman David Lawrie said: “As far as we’re aware, nothing has moved on in the case.
“Our consulate has told us that they’re awaiting trial.
“It’s moving slowly and it’s quite a long, on-going case.”
Speaking to the Oxford Mail from prison in Peru, Brandon, a former student at Oxford & Cherwell Valley College, took responsibility for the crime.
He said: “It was me who had the drugs. I admit it. I got caught.
“Alan had no knowledge whatsoever. He didn’t get caught with anything. I take complete blame for what happened.”
Rae’s 16-year-old daughter Aimee, from Kidlington, gave birth to her first child after her father’s arrest.
She claimed he could not possibly be an international drug smuggler.
She said: “I know my dad and there’s no way he would get mixed up in something like this.
“Josh has never seen his grandad. I know it’s breaking my dad’s heart that he’s stuck over there and missing out on Josh’s first few months.
“Without being rude, my dad isn’t bright enough to have done this. He wasn’t an angel, but this is major international drug trafficking we’re talking about.”
The Oxford Mail has had no contact with either man since January.
They were originally expected to stand trial in March.
Fair Trials International, which helps people being held in foreign jails, is helping father-of-two Rae with his case.
The London charity provides legal assistance and caseworkers for individual cases, and campaigns for more transparent legal systems around the world.
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