A British woman's eight-month-old baby has tested positive for cocaine in a shocking discovery. The mother left the sandy beach, where she and baby and been camping with her boyfriend, in handcuffs.
A complaint about a bonfire under a large tree near Marbella, Spain, led police to the young family where their investigation uncovered far more than they could have imagined. Officers arrived to find the mother and her boyfriend were staying in a tent by dunes at Cabopino Beach, where their an uninsured car was parked nearby with an expired MOT on it. Police decided to take the baby to a local health centre for a check-up after seeing the family’s living conditions and suspecting the youngster could be malnourished. The child was transferred to the Costa del Sol Hospital near Marbella after being seen at Las Albarizas Health Centre in the popular holiday resort.
An initial hospital examination confirmed the baby boy was underweight for his age and the cocaine showed up in a urine test, leading to him being admitted to a paediatric unit as medics awaited further test results. The youngster’s mum was identified as a 25-year-old British national and her partner as a 43-year-old Spanish man.
Local reports said the woman had failed to show for several appointments she had made over the past few months at the paediatric unit where her child is currently being looked after. She is expected to appear in court later today with her boyfriend after being kept in a cell at Marbella Police Station overnight.
The hearing will take place behind-closed-doors, as is normal in Spain where only trials take place in public.
An investigating judge is expected to release the pair on bail pending an ongoing probe, although their child is set to be taken into temporary emergency care pending a decision on its long-term future. Police have yet to make any official comment.
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