Hong Kong court extends bail for nine foreign nationals accused of smuggling Ice
Foreign nationals back in the High Court to face Ice smuggling charges
Nine foreign nationals accused of smuggling the powerful illegal stimulant crystal meth from Hong Kong to Australia and New Zealand had their bail extended in the High Court yesterday.
The defendants - who are all elderly or middle-aged and come from Australia, Europe and the United States - appeared in court as a group because of the similar nature of their cases.
All nine were arrested on separate occasions at Hong Kong International Airport between April last year and March this year, shortly before they were due to board flights to major cities in Australia.
One defendant was bound for Auckland.
Each was caught with between 1.5kg and 4kg of crystal methamphetamine - also known as Ice - hidden in their luggage.
The four Australians are warehouse worker James Clifford, 62; miner Kent Walsh, 49; German-born Jorg Ulitzka, 79; and a Vietnamese woman named Luu Suong Thu, 44.
The three Americans are Mark Un, 55; William Moorman, 47; and Californian woman Celia Eberhard, 68.
The two Europeans are Brendan Toner, 62, from Northern Ireland, and Dutchman Hendrikus Teutscher, 75.
All were charged with one count of trafficking dangerous drugs and were being represented by lawyers arranged by the Legal Aid Department. If convicted of smuggling drugs, they could face prison sentences of 23 to 26 years.
The defendants sat in the public gallery before court was in session, next to local and international media, supporters from church groups and consular representatives from Australia, Germany and the Netherlands.
They moved into the dock for the proceedings with officers from the Correctional Services Department standing guard.
Last month, Zervos granted bail for each of the nine after the prosecution raised no objections.
Prosecutor David Leung Cheuk-yin SC said the Department of Justice was proceeding with two of the cases and aimed to finish reviewing the other seven cases before the next court date.
The defendants were represented by barristers Gerard McCoy SC and Michael Arthur of Gilt Chambers.
