Somerset OAP, 79, faces drugs charges in Chile after his arrest at airport

A PENSIONER from Somerset is suspected by Chilean police of international drug smuggling after allegedly more than 5kg of meth-amphetamine was found in his suitcase at Santiago Airport

- STAFF REPORTERS

Bowls enthusiast William 'Billy Boy' Eastment, 79, of Milborne Port, was arrested on May 18 following his arrival from Cancun, Mexico. The septuagenarian faces spending his remaining years behind bars.

Currently confined in Santiago 1 Penitentiary awaiting trial, Eastment previously lived in a semi-detached housing association bungalow, part of a community designed for elderly individuals offering social pastimes like coffee mornings and Tai Chi.

He is now facing a massive drug trafficking inquiry linking law enforcement from Chile, Mexico, the US, Brazil and the UK.

The chief of the Anti-Narcotics Division of the Chilean PDI police at Arturo Merino Benitez Airport, Sergio Paredes, revealed that Eastment claimed to officials a remarkable $5 million (£3.7 million) had been dangled before him as payment for transporting the narcotics.