NY woman denies smuggling crystal meth

A New York woman with no criminal record is accused of smuggling almost $5,000 worth of crystal meth into Vermont.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140912/NEWS02/709129934

Photo by Eric Francis India Chapman appears in White River Junction criminal court on a charge of possessing methamphetamines. Published September 12, 2014 in the Rutland Herald NY woman denies smuggling crystal meth By ERIC FRANCIS CORRESPONDENT WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A New York woman with no criminal record is accused of smuggling almost $5,000 worth of crystal meth into Vermont. India Chapman, 22, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded innocent to a felony count of methamphetamine possession and was jailed for lack of $25,000 bail due to her lack of ties to the state of Vermont. Vermont State Police said Chapman was a passenger in a car that was pulled over for speeding Wednesday on Interstate 91 in Springfield. The three men in the car, including the driver, were released, but police said Chapman was found to be smuggling crystal meth in a condom. Police said Chapman gave a tearful confession in which she said she was the mother of two young girls and that this was only her second trip to Vermont. She allegedly told police she was being paid to smuggle the drugs from New York City to Burlington. After spending Wednesday night in jail, Chapman was arraigned Thursday in White River Junction criminal court and sent back to jail. State Police Sgt. Michael Studin said that after he pulled over the car for speeding, he became suspicious because the occupants said they came from Boston to spend a few days in Burlington, but seemed to have no luggage for such a stay. One of the male passengers’ clothes were sprinkled with green plant stems and flakes that appeared to be marijuana “shake,” Studin wrote in his affidavit. The trooper said he received permission to search the car, and found drug-related items but no actual narcotics on any of the men. None of them were charged with any crime. Chapman, however, was behaving suspiciously, avoiding eye contact and saying she was nervous because “she did not like police,” Studin wrote. At the state police barracks in Rockingham, Chapman allegedly confessed and produced a condom and told officers she did not know what drugs were in it but that she was being paid $400 to bring it to Vermont. Studin said the condom contained 30 grams of crystal meth that carried a street value of about $4,800. If convicted, Chapman faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.