Woman freed after ´drugs´ found to be ice tea

˝She´s traumatised, she´s lost a lot of weight and she´ll be seeing a doctor,˝ said her barrister, Michael Pena-Rees.

MELBOURNE, March 18, 2010 (AFP) - A Filipina wedding planner holidaying in Australia was released from detention Thursday after being wrongly held for five days on drugs charges following a mix-up involving iced tea powder.

Maria Cecilia Silva, 29, was arrested at Melbourne airport on Saturday after a sniffer dog alerted officials to packets of lemon flavoured iced tea in her luggage.

Tests on the powder returned a positive result for amphetamines and Silva was charged with importing a commercial quantity of drugs.

But secondary tests revealed the initial result was wrong, and charges against her were withdrawn Thursday in the Melbourne Magistrates Court.

Silva was awarded 5,000 dollars (4,600 US dollars) compensation for her wrongful imprisonment.

"She's traumatised, she's lost a lot of weight and she'll be seeing a doctor," said her barrister, Michael Pena-Rees.

"She's a totally innocent young lady who has experienced five days in an horrendous situation having her liberty taken away and placed in cells with some serious offenders," he told the AAP newswire.

The court heard that an ingredient in the tea sachets, which Silva purchased in Manila for a friend, was commonly mistaken for drugs, according to state radio.