Innocent Brit spent a year in Spanish jail after £5m of drugs found at Airbnb villa he rented
A BRIT businessman spent a year in jail in Spain after cops found £5million of cannabis at a villa he rented.
Robert Mansfield-Hewitt, 51, was seized last year in a raid on the Airbnb-listed property near Gibraltar.
Armed police found 1.5 tonnes of hashish in an adjoining garage.
Robert, on a business trip, had been in the property for just 48 hours. He was charged with a “crime against public health” and faced four-and-a-half years in jail and a £7million fine.
Robert, of Chichester, West Sussex, was locked up in Botafuegos prison in Algeciras.
He was eventually freed earlier this month after a judge dropped the charges. However he was still fined £1,400 for renting an unlicensed house.
Although the villa was listed with Airbnb, Robert, an MoD electrical engineer, did not book through the company.
He said: “The whole thing was a farce. They deemed me a flight risk, denied me bail and took my passport.”
Speaking of last May’s raid, the avid churchgoer, who walks with a cane due to a liver condition, said: “It was terrifying. I have never been in trouble with the law. I’m a very gentle soul, I would never get involved with drugs.”
It is understood the property’s owner, a Moroccan-born man in his 60s, has not been quizzed despite having a previous drug conviction.
Robert is due to fly back to Gatwick on Thursday. He said: “Mummy’s very pleased. We’re relieved this nightmare is over.”
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