AN aspiring nurse, who was caught entering the island from Guyana with almost two pounds of cocaine in her stomach and vagina, yesterday claimed that she smuggled the drugs to pay for her nursing course.

Lisa Reid, a 25-year-old bartender of Old Harbour, St Catherine, who was arrested at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston on August 6, told Parish Judge Maxine Ellis that she was “inveigled” by her boyfriend’s friends to traffic the cocaine and that she did it to accumulate funds to further her education.

She also told the judge in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court that she knows of individuals who have done the same thing and have not been caught.

Reid further disclosed that she was paid US$1,500 to import the cocaine. But the judge told her that that didn’t make sense, as the cost for her travel expense and hotel accommodation would have been far more expensive.

However, Reid, who pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, importing cocaine and conspiracy to import, but not guilty to dealing in cocaine, was remanded in custody until September 20.

According to the facts in the case, about 4:15 pm on August 6, Reid arrived in the island on a flight from Guyana. The police, who were acting on information, stopped her for an interview. A sample of her urine was requested and she complied.

Reid, at that point, confessed that she had ingested cocaine pellets and voluntarily removed a cylindrical parcel from her vagina. The parcel, when cut, contained a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine.

She was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital where she expelled 43 cocaine pellets.

Reid was subsequently charged and when cautioned, told the police, “Officer, mi mek a mistake.”