Mark Franklin ,Pieter Tritton

Mark Franklin told a jury yesterday that up until just before he travelled to Venezuela with Pieter Tritton, he thought it was in Europe.Franklin, who said he had nothing in his life at the time when Tritton offered to take him away to the South American country in late April 2005, said: "I thought it was near Italy and Spain."
He is appearing at Gloucester Crown Court, accused of being part of a plot to smuggle cocaine from South America into this country ingeniously hidden in camping gear.
He denies his trip with Tritton to Venezuela had any drugs connection.In an operation, orchestrated by Pieter Tritton, the Crown alleges Franklin was a "footsoldier" or "mule" in the plot and was paid for his services.
Tritton is currently serving 12 years in prison after he was arrested in a hotel room in Ecuador with 7.8kg of cocaine in a rucksack.
In evidence yesterday, Franklin said Tritton had offered him the holiday two or three weeks before they left at a time when he (Franklin) was heavily addicted to heroin.
He said Tritton had said he should get away from heroin and enjoy the sunshine.
"The sunshine compared to Stroud seemed pretty attractive to me," Franklin told the trial.
"It was time to give up the heroin," he added. "I was on a one way road to prison," he added.
At the time of the offer, he said his life was "a complete misery" and he would wake early every morning sweating and vomiting, before "trolling round the shops" and later scoring heroin.
"Did you know the journey would have a drugs connotation?" asked prosecution barrister Ray Tully.
And Franklin replied: "No, absolutely not."
Mr Tully asked if Tritton had discussed with him why he had wanted to take the trip.
Franklin said he thought it was because he (Tritton) needed a break, had been working hard and wanted a holiday.
Earlier, the jury heard how Franklin had previous convictions from 1994 onwards - for dishonesty and shoplifting and in 2000 had appeared in court for possessing heroin.
Earlier the trial heard how Tritton and Franklin flew to Caracas on April 29, and, under surveillance, appeared to do nothing for days on end, except mill about their hotel and the shops.
It is the Crown's case that some kind of "importation" took place during this trip, the trial has heard.
The court was told how Franklin and another woman, Victoria Baptist, were allegedly part of a gang which smuggled cocaine into this country - impregnated in camping equipment.
Franklin, of Chapel Street, Stroud, along with Baptist, 35, of Paganhill Estate, Paganhill, Stroud - have pleaded not guilty to conspiring together, and with Tritton, Alex Portocarrera, James Fletcher and others, to evade the prohibition on the importation of a controlled drug of Class A between June 1, 2004 and August 15, 2005.

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