Australian given 100k after drugs turned out to be shampoo
An Australian man has been compensated with 100,000 dollars for being falsely accused of trafficking drugs in shampoo bottles, which later turned out clean.
Neil Parry was arrested at airport here last June and accused of trafficking 1.6 kg of liquid ecstasy in two bottles of Pantene Pro-V shampoo.
Parry's boat and two of his friend's houses were searched and he was granted bail after spending three days in jail.
However, all charges against him were dropped when customs officials admitted that there were no drugs in the seized shampoo bottles.
Customs apologised and admitted it failed to follow correct procedures when testing the shampoo, he said.
Parry was given 100,000 and an apology for his ordeal."It is not worth it, no," Parry said adding "I would rather it never happened."
Parry claims he was locked in a legal battle with Customs for the past 17 months.
He said most of the compensation money would go towards his legal expenses.
