Perth mother Leticia Verney arrested in the US after allegedly traveling the world with her two young children and trying to smuggle drugs to an inmate she met online
Two Australian children have been stranded in the US after their mother was arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle a range of drugs into a US prison for her partner.
Leticia Verney, 41, was arrested on February 5 after a police dog alerted officers at Lewis Prison in Arizona to a package on her person.
Upon opening the package, officers allegedly found 200 pills of fentanyl, seven grams of marijuana and 28 grams of heroin and methamphetamine.
Verney is said to have traveled to the US on holiday with two of her six children last year so she could see her partner who she met online.
He is believed to be an inmate at Lewis Prison and is believed to be the recipient of the packages.
The children, ages seven and 12, have since been placed in the care of Arizona Child Protective Services after their mother was taken into custody and faced with 19 charges.
Perth mother Leticia Verney (pictured), 41, has been arrested in a US prison after allegedly trying to smuggle a package of drugs for her jailed partner
The costs are inclusive eight counts of bringing contraband into a correctional facility, one count of transporting/selling a dangerous drug, and two counts of transporting/selling narcotics.
Another eight federal charges will go before a grand jury.
Upon arriving at the jail to meet her partner, Verney was taken to the sheriff's office, where a police dog (K-9) reportedly alerted officers to the package.
The range of drugs allegedly found on Verney are “worth thousands of dollars on the street, and potentially tens of thousands of dollars in custody,” according to Deputy Chief Russ Skinner.
Father-of-two Daniel Smith expected the trio to return home from their trip in December and is now in a race against time to get his children back to Australia.
He has been in contact with U.S. officials who urged him to pick up his children as soon as possible before they are placed in foster care.
“Apparently it's a lot harder to get them back if they're put into care,” Mr Smith told the newspaper Western Australian.
The cost of flying himself and the children around the world is a major challenge for Mr Smith, who has been unable to work after recently undergoing back surgery.
Officers at Lewis Prison in Arizona (pictured) were reportedly alerted to the package by a police dog and immediately arrested
“I dug deep to find money to pay for an emergency passport and flights for both of them,” he said.
“The priority now is to get them home, they have no family there and I don't know who they are staying with.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it is “providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian woman detained in Arizona.”
Verney is expected to appear in court for arraignment on February 20, while her trial is set to begin on June 19.