HAVANA, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Cuba is holding six Canadian tourists for suspected drug-smuggling after cocaine was allegedly found in their luggage, foreign diplomats said on Wednesday.
"The embassy can confirm that six Canadians are being detained," a Canadian Embassy spokesman said in Havana.
The six, four men and two women, were arrested on Nov. 8 at Havana airport after arriving from Jamaica. A seventh member of the group, a pregnant woman, was released.
According to police, 66 pounds (30 kg) of cocaine was found in their luggage, some of it concealed in hollow coat-hangers.
It was not immediately clear whether the accused had intended to distribute the cocaine in Cuba or whether it was headed for another destination outside the island.
The group had return tickets to Jamaica.
A Canadian Embassy consular officer had visited the six in detention. The Cuban authorities were expected to press formal charges against them and eventually bring them to trial.
It was believed to be the largest number of Canadian nationals ever arrested in Cuba for a suspected drug offense.
Two other Canadian citizens are currently serving sentences of 12 and 15 years in a Cuban jail after being convicted of smuggling marijuana.
Since the communist-ruled island opened up to foreign tourism in 1990, more and more Canadians have been traveling to Cuba. More than 200,000 Canadians are expected to visit this year, and Canada is Cuba's biggest source of tourists.
The Caribbean island is in the middle of major air and sea drug-smuggling routes that link producing areas in Latin America and user markets in the United States and Europe.
Cuban authorities have moved to stop their country from being used as a transit point by international drug-smugglers. With the help of training and equipment from other nations like Britain, Cuban officials have arrested a growing number of foreigners carrying drugs at the island's airports.
Cuban security forces have also intercepted foreign-crewed vessels transporting narcotics in Cuban waters or attempting to pick up drops of drug packages made by light aircraft.
Inside Cuba, drug use is not widespread but officials say it has now started as a result of the influence of tourism and the influx of foreign visitors.
20:20 11-25-98
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited