A British beautician faces 60 years in prison in the US after allegedly smuggling £3.5m worth of cocaine in her suitcases.
Kim Hall, 28, from Middlesbrough, was detained at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport as she prepared to board a connecting flight to Manchester.
Homeland Security investigators found 43 kg of cocaine packed in two suitcases. before stopping the beautician.
She claims she was forced by two men to smuggle the drugs after offering her a free trip to Cancun and then threatening her once she arrived.
Her father, John Hall, 59, defended her, saying the only thing she is guilty of is “stupidity and naivety.”
Kim Hall, 28, from Middlesbrough, was detained at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport as she prepared to board a connecting flight to Manchester.
Homeland Security investigators found 43 kilos of cocaine in two suitcases before arresting the beautician.
Her father, John Hall, 59, defended her, saying the only thing she is guilty of is “stupidity and naivety.”
he said the sun: ‘She’s not a drug dealer. They told him that what he was carrying would be money.
‘They took his phone and threatened his family and that’s why he did it.
“She had been in Portugal with a friend and met people there who contacted her when she returned to tell her they were interested in real estate in Mexico and she could go on a free vacation.”
He added that she is ‘petrified’ after telling him that ‘you don’t understand what they were threatening me with.’
After her arrest in August, Kim was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to deliver after her arrest in August.
She claims she was forced by two men to smuggle the drugs after offering her a free trip to Cancun and then threatening her once she arrived.
She is being held in Chicago awaiting trial after making several preliminary appearances in Cook County Circuit Court.
Due to the amount of drugs seized, the crime is in the upper sentencing bracket, with a Class X felony carrying between 15 and 60 years in prison.
She is being held in Chicago awaiting trial after making several preliminary appearances in Cook County Circuit Court.
His family has had to shell out £28,000 to hire a local lawyer and the trial could take a year.
A Cook County court spokeswoman said: “His next court appearance is Nov. 13.”
