A Guyanese mother of four has been locked away in a women’s prison in Ecuador for almost a year without a trial, after she was allegedly caught with drugs as she was about to leave the country.
Teffiny Onika Smith originally from Lamaha Springs recently contacted this newspaper saying that the justice system in that country is “wrong“ and that she needed help to highlight her plight.
Stabroek News understands that inmates of the Quito prison where Smith is being held are allowed to use the computer and make telephone calls. The woman occasionally calls home and speaks with relatives. The last word that they got was that she is yet to be put on trial.
One of the woman’s close friends expressed fear for her safety stating that lots of horrible things happen at that prison. She explained that Smith had met a male via Facebook and had visited Ecuador.
The friend explained that she travelled a second time in May last year and as she was preparing to leave the country several weeks later she was held with drugs at the airport. The friend recalled getting the call a few days after Smith was arrested. She said that the woman who was in tears said that she was in the lockups and that someone had placed drugs in her suitcase. The friend explained to this newspaper that Smith had apparently allowed someone to pack her suitcase.
The friend described Smith as a hard-working single parent mother who did all she could including domestic work to support her children. Smith’s children range from ages 10 to 20.
