Tahiti meth trial deferred again

3:15 pm on 26 February 2020

A court case in French Polynesia over alleged drug smuggling via the mail system has again been deferred.

Transparent plastic bags with white powder isolated on black background

File photo. Photo: 123RF File photo

The defence has called for more time to be prepare, saying one of the accused risks 20 years in prison and a fine in excess of half a million US dollars.

It also called for further investigations.

The case has already been deferred once.

The seven defendants were arrested last month after they allegedly smuggled in drugs worth about $US600,000 using the postal system over several months.

The prosecution said the men used false names and addresses to receive small quantities of the drug from the US, which two suspects who worked for the postal service then collected.

Reports say the customs service intercepted some of the envelopes, which triggered discord within the group as they suspected each other of cheating.