Diplomatic bag
Sir: Michael Nicholson’s story of a boat-owner finding contraband aboard from the previous owner (Letters, 22 November) reminded me of being compromised in Paris. As leader of a teenage school party, I suspected one or more of them of being in possession. As staff we searched suitcases and bedrooms with fingertip detail and found nothing for most of the trawl. I had warned the party in advance of the impending swoop and fully expected this outcome. But you can never guarantee no surprises, and we did find a stash of the substance tied in a waterproof bag, deep inside one toilet cistern. We dispatched the culprit home on the next Eurostar but that left me with the goods.
What should one do? Throw it away — but I wouldn’t be able to prove it; hand it into the police — and risk the whole party being banged up for a weekend; or bring it home for disposal (doesn’t bear thinking about). Finally I posted it to the British embassy from a box in the Champs Elysées. Now the truth is out and I sincerely apologise for the astonishment which must have accompanied the opening of the parcel there the day after. Sorry chaps. Lister Wilson
Cambridge
Previous page
