Brit insists ‘I’m innocent’ after taking 2 cases of ‘cash’ to UK when it was £15m of cocaine as she faces 60yrs in jail
THE British woman facing 60 years in jail in America for allegedly trafficking £15m of cocaine in her holiday suitcases protested her innocence today as she appeared in court.
Kim Hall, 28, is accused of possessing 43kg of the Class A drug as she made her way home from a week-long break in Mexico.
A judge told her that the investigation was ongoing as he adjourned the case.
But after the brief hearing defiant Kim said: “My position has not changed.
“I am innocent of these charges – I did not traffic drugs.”
The self-employed beautician, of Middlesbrough, walked into courtroom 600 at Chicago’s criminal courthouse with dad John, 59, at her side.
He had flown to America to support her – the first relative she has seen since she was arrested at Chicago’s O’Hare airport on August 18.
Kim, who has previously pleaded not guilty to possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to deliver, appeared before Judge Michael B McHale for a two-minute hearing.
Prosecutor Justin Goldfarb told the court: “There is ongoing discovery.”
Judge McHale told Kim: “The case will be adjourned for further discovery.”
Kim was arrested on August 18 at Chicago’s O’Hare airport as she was going through security to catch a connecting flight to London.
She had been offered a free holiday to Cancun by two British men she met on an earlier trip to Portugal.
But while she was enjoying the break the pair asked her to bring two suitcases home.
They told her the bags were full of $250,000 in cash and reassured her it was legal.
She agreed but then had a fallout with the men who threatened her with a gun and took her phone and passport off her.
Kim eventually caught a flight home but was stopped in Chicago when Homeland Security officials found the drugs during a random check.
She told The Sun this week: “There’s no way that I would knowingly transport drugs in any way, shape or form.
“I’m not a bad person. I’ve never been in trouble in my life and I’m not guilty of what they are accusing me of.
“I didn’t knowingly smuggle drugs. I’m not a drug trafficker and I’m going to fight to prove my innocence with every bone in my body.
“The two guys threatened me, but not just with words.
“They were annoyed because they thought I was trying to avoid taking the suitcases.
“One of them dragged me off the bed by my hair and held a handgun to my head.
“He said: ‘I’ll f*cking shoot you.’ It was the most frightening thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.
“This has gone from: ‘Come to Mexico for a holiday’ to being held at gunpoint.
“They held a gun to my head and threatened to shoot me.”
When she was arrested at the airport she suffered a panic attack.
She said: “I was in shock, completely numb, it was such a bizarre feeling, like I was watching someone else in a film.
“I couldn’t breathe.
“I cried and cried, I was pleading with them to let me call my mum and dad.
“I was in a daze, thinking is this really happening to me?
Her case was adjourned until January.