[420 Girl]

A man jailed in India for drug trafficking has had his case raised in the Houses of Parliament.

Dr Howard Stoate, MP for Dartford, spoke to foreign minister Bill Rammell about Patrick Malluzzo, whose parents live in Upper Heath Lane, Dartford.

Patrick was arrested at Mumbai airport in January 2004 on suspicion of drug trafficking, after his unattended bag was found on a train alongside another bag containing drugs.

He claimed he gave one of his bags to a travelling companion to take to Goa while he stayed in Delhi. The owner of the other bag was never identified.

In July 2006, Patrick was found guilty of smuggling cannabis and sentenced to 10 years of hard labour in an Indian jail.

He has now spent almost five years in the jail in Kota, Rajasthan.

Mr Malluzzo’s case was raised at question time in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

Dr Stoate, who first took up Mr Malluzzo’s case after his initial arrest in 2004, made reference in the Commons to his lengthy wait for an appeal.

Dr Stoate also asked if a British consular could be present once an appeal date is set.

Mr Rammell has now offered to meet Dr Stoate to discuss the matter further.

He also promised to consider the MP’s request for a consular presence at the appeal.

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