Australian police drop charges against 'world's oldest drug trafficker
Prosecutors dropped the case against Victor Twartz, 92, a retired oral surgeon who was arrested in Sydney after importing cocaine from India but insisted he was the victim of a scam
Prosecutors in Australia have dropped the case against 92-year-old Victor Twartz, labelled the world’s oldest drug smuggler after he was apparently duped into importing £490,000 worth of cocaine from India.
The retired oral surgeon, who lives in a nursing home, was arrested in Sydney in July after smuggling 10lb (4.5 kg) of cocaine hidden in 27 packets of soap on a flight from New Delhi.
He denied any knowledge of the drugs, which he apparently received from a person he met during a trip to India.
“I looked carefully what was in the soap," he told Fairfax Media last year.
"I scraped it and it was certainly soap but there were these streaks of white stuff in between. I thought it was additional perfume or that was the style of Indian soap."
Mr Twartz said he was the victim of a scam and that he travelled abroad after being approached by a man claiming to be from a bank in Switzerland who asked him to fly to London and then to India and paid for his flights.
The criminal case was due to be heard later this month. Mr Twartz faced life imprisonment.
However, prosecutors on Friday told a court in Sydney they were dropping the charges.
Photo: Australian Federal Police via AP
"The Crown has determined to discontinue proceedings," prosecutors told the court. "The trial date of February 22 should be vacated."
Mr Twartz did not attend court.
His lawyers reportedly applied to have the case discontinued last month due to his age and health.
The 92-year-old, who was 91 when arrested, is believed to be one of the world’s oldest people to face serious drug charges.
Ola Mae Agee, who was imprisoned aged 87 for dealing crack from her house in Florida in 2010, has been labelled the world’s oldest drug dealer and may not retain her title.
In 2012, Francis Cook was labelled Britain’s oldest drug dealer after he was convicted at age 83 for growing almost 200 cannabis plants.
The case against Mr Twartz prompted Australian police to warn travellers to be careful when packing luggage. Police said smugglers may be charged even if they did not know they were carrying drugs.
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