EXCLUSIVE: British bowls-playing pensioner accused of smuggling £200,000 of meth in Chile is set to return home after his case was closed on health grounds
The British pensioner accused of acting as an international drug runner will have his case formally closed tomorrow, allowing him to return home to the UK immediately.
However, concerns now exist that William “Billy Boy” Eastment, who has to find the money for his flight, may struggle to make the 14-hour journey back home. The 80-year-old won his appeal to be freed from a Chilean prison after claiming he had been “tricked” into smuggling drugs.
The retired heavy goods vehicle and bus fitter, from Milborne Port, Somerset, had been held for almost a year in the tough Santiago 1 Penitentiary after he was arrested at the airport with methamphetamine worth around £200,000 hidden in his luggage.
His legal team has now succeeded in having the case brought to an end on health grounds, after warning that his condition had seriously deteriorated behind bars. Eastment, who was arrested in May last year after flying into Chile from Mexico, has suffered repeated bouts of pneumonia while in custody and has a series of underlying health conditions.
A source close to the case said: “His health isn’t good at all. He’s very vulnerable, and being in prison is making everything worse. The biggest issue he has now is finding the money for a flight home and whether he can survive the 14-hour flight home.”
The pensioner had previously been told he could swap prison for house arrest after Chilean authorities accepted he was too unwell to remain behind bars while the legal process continued. Judge Lilian Saez Lemari ordered police to make regular visits to the property where he was held, in a working-class neighbourhood on the southern outskirts of Santiago, to ensure he complied with his home incarceration.
But his lawyers pressed for the case to be resolved altogether, arguing his age and health meant he could not safely endure a lengthy legal process or remain in Chile indefinitely.
The court will now formally close the case tomorrow, clearing the way for Eastment to leave the country and return to Britain. The aim was to resolve the case quickly because of Eastment’s condition, with lawyers seeking a compromise to avoid a full trial.
His arrest shocked neighbours in his quiet Somerset cul-de-sac and stunned friends who knew him as a fishing and bowls enthusiast rather than an alleged international courier.
Eastment told authorities he had been duped by scammers who convinced him he had won a prize and needed to travel abroad. He said he had no idea drugs had been concealed in his luggage. At one stage, hopes of bringing him back to Britain appeared slim. Extradition was not considered a realistic option, with officials warning any such process could take years.
“The ideal scenario would have been for the prison sentence to be replaced with expulsion from Chile,” a source said at the time. “That does happen in some cases. But under Chilean law, that simply isn’t an option for drug offences.”
Lawyers then focused on securing his release on supervised conditions, but even that was complicated by his medical and financial situation. Because Eastment entered Chile as a tourist, he was not eligible for the country’s national health system, leaving him facing medical bills he could not cover.
Officials had required a financial guarantor before he could be released from prison.
“The problem is he needs a family member to step forward and act as guarantor for his healthcare bills,” the source said. “Without that, he cannot be released. The problem is that they are having trouble tracking down close family. It’s not like it is that much money is needed to be his guarantor.”
Eastment’s only income before his arrest was his UK state pension, but he had struggled to access funds while detained in Chile.
“He’s no longer receiving his pension and has no way of accessing it from Chile,” the source said. “He doesn’t have any income at all.” The expected closure of the case now brings an end to months of legal efforts and clears the path for Eastment to fly home.
