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Bid to bring Venezuela children home
20 Feb 2009- Cameron urges voters to keep Union
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Legal efforts are getting under way to bring home four children stranded in Venezuela after a British couple were arrested for drug smuggling.
The youngsters are the children of Laura Makin, from Wirral, Merseyside, who was arrested with husband Paul on the holiday island of Margarita as they tried to board a flight to London on Monday. The couple were detained for allegedly carrying 53lb (24kg) of cocaine stuffed in suitcases.
Their two-year-old twins, Libby and Lucy, were taken into care along with Mrs Makin's children from a previous relationship Jack, eight, and Megan, seven. The father of Jack and Megan is expected to fly out to Venezuela in the next few days and bring all four children home.
The Foreign Office confirmed that some family members have now arrived on the island and seen the children. A spokeswoman said: "Family members are now in attendance and the consulate is liaising between the Venezuelan authorities and social services in the UK."
A spokesman for Social Services in Wirral, where the Makins live, said: "We are working hard to ensure all necessary support is being provided to the family."
The Makins' solicitor, John Wheate, also said he was working to ensure the children's repatriation.
Bus driver Paul Makin, 31, a former Cheshire Regiment soldier, was already wanted by UK police after failing to attend court. Makin, of Woodchurch, Birkenhead, was due to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court on February 9 charged with affray and possessing a machete but never showed up.
Relatives have spoken of their shock at the news of the arrests, made as the family returned from a First Choice package holiday.
Paul Makin's grandmother, Margaret Makin, a widow, said she was under the impression the couple were getting divorced. Speaking from her home in Moreton, Wirral, she said she knew her grandson was going on holiday but could not believe he was arrested for allegedly carrying the Class A drug.
It is understood the couple will appear in court in the next 30 days.
Reader views (2)
If the parents are involved with drug smuggling then it was right to arrest them but,the children should be allowed to come back home without delay.
A G Leeds
- Awesome Geronimo, Leeds UK, 20/02/2009 14:30
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I cannot believe that this has been allowed to happen to 4 children who are British citizens. They are not involved in the drug allegations and they have not been charged, so they should not be detained in a foreign country. They should have been put on the first flight back to Britain with a relative that the parents nominate. Surely this is a civil rights outrage - but maybe Venezuela doesn't have civil rights? - what is the British Consulate/Foreign Office doing about this? And what is the legal position of the children out there - any lawyers or international law experts know the answer? All I know is that I don't think any country has the right to put a foreign child into foster care in their own country.
- May, London, UK, 20/02/2009 03:37
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