AN Australian woman has been remanded by the Nadi Magistrates Court for her alleged involvement in ferrying illegal drugs, uncovered during a raid last week.
Yvette Nikolic is charged with one count of unlawful importation of illicit drugs, one count of being found in possession of illicit drugs and one count of failure to declare firearms and ammunition.
She appeared before Magistrate Siromi Turaga yesterday and it is alleged she and another person imported 12.9 kilograms of cocaine and 34.4 grams of methamphetamine and cocaine tablets.
The cocaine and ammunition was found during a joint drug raid last Friday at the Port Denarau Marina in Nadi.
Defence lawyers yesterday sought more time to go through documents provided by the prosecution, who informed the court the investigations into the case had been completed.
With this confirmation, defence also asked for the yacht belonging to the accused to be returned and her personal belongings and clothing returned to her.
A request was also made for the accused to visit her husband who is admitted at the Lautoka Hospital in a critical condition after allegedly consuming an unknown substance during the raid.
The matter will be called before the High Court in Lautoka on July 4.
Four people were initially taken into custody. The other three suspects have been questioned and released.
The joint operation by border enforcement agencies led to the seizure of cocaine and ecstasy tablets with an estimated value of $US10 to $US15m ($F20.9m-$F31.4m) from an unidentified yacht, believed to be owned by the accused.
