Paul Makin and his wife Laura, were detained by police at Porlamar airport allegedly carrying 52lb of cocaine

Paul and Laura Makin from Birkenhead, Merseyside, were arrested at the airport of Isla Margarita, a resort island off Venezuela's Caribbean coast, after allegedly packing 23.7kg (52lb) of the drug - worth an estimated £1.2m - into their luggage.Their children, two-year-old twins and a boy and girl aged seven and eight, have been taken into care by Venezuelan social services and are expected to return to Britain later this week. The family were attempting to board a flight home after a package holiday on the island of Margarita. According to reports in Venezuela, their cases were searched and found to contain false bottoms concealing several bags of drugs. Family members arrived this afternoon to help care for the children who had been placed in the care of local social services. The couple were held at a local command of the national guard before being seen by a judge. They are being held in the San Antonio prison, where drug trafficking cases make up 85 per cent of the 1,300 prisoners, according to guards. They are being held separately in male and female wings, Mrs Makin in an individual cell and her husband in a group dormitory. The couple have yet to be charged and have not been seen by a lawyer or a representative of the British Embassy. "It's a process," said one guard, who declined to be named. Investigations are ongoing and prosecutors now have 45 days to bring charges or release the couple. Luis Moreno, the director of the prison, said the arrests came as the authorities were trying to smash a smuggling ring. "There are never just two, there are always more, at least 15 or 20. Therefore we have to be very careful about letting information out." The British authorities were already seeking Mr Makin when he was arrested. Merseyside Police said today that he had been due to attend Liverpool Crown Court on February 9 accused of affray and possession of an offensive weapon. When he did not attend the trial a judge issued a warrant for his arrest. He is alleged to have threatened a man with what was believed to be a machete in Prenton last September. It is understood that the family went on holiday three weeks ago but did not return, as expected, after a week. Customs officers at Porlamar said that drugs-smuggling to and from the island is becoming an increasingly frequent occurrence, with Venezuelan territory being used as a trafficking route between Colombia and the United States and Europe.

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