Drugs charge washed away

AN AUSTRALIAN man has been awarded AUS$100,000 after he was wrongly accused of trying to smuggle drugs into the country in bottles of shampoo.

Neil Parry of Darwin spent three days in jail last year after he was arrested at Darwin Airport and accused of trafficking liquid ecstasy. His boat and two friends’ houses were searched.

But his two bottles of Pantene Pro-V shampoo and conditioner contained exactly what the labels said.

Australian Customs & Border Protection said mistakes were made in tests on the items.