A STUDENT from Newport has spent the last four months in a South American jail after being charged with drugs offences.

Leah Pugsley, 20, of Ringland, was arrested at Maiquetia airport in Venezuela on December 3 last year and was sent to Inos prison in Los Teques where she is currently awaiting trial.

The Foreign Office confirmed Ms Pugsley, who is believed to be a student in London, was placed in the all-women jail, which is near the capital Caracas in the state of Miranda, after her arrest. The minimum sentence for any drugs offences in the country is 10 years.

Officials are not saying what drugs she is accused of being connected with.

A spokeswoman for the British Embassy in Venezuela said: "We cannot release any further information about Leah Pugsley, her next of kin has been informed but have yet to visit her.

"We can confirm that Leah Pugsley was charged with suspected narcotic offences and is being detained in Venezuela."

The spokeswoman added that it was not yet known how long Ms Pugsley would remain in the prison as a court date was not set.

Her family in Ringland confirmed to the Argus she had been arrested in Venezuela.

Venezuelan prisons are known for their poorly, overcrowded and understaffed.

But Inos Prison was described by a spokeswoman from the British Embassy as "one of the better prisons - if you can say any Venezuelan prisons are good."