Convicted drug smuggler fails in GOC appeal

A young woman found guilty of drug trafficking in Brazil in 2007 has been told she cannot apply for student registration with the General Optical Council.

The Registration Appeals Committee said that Davena Payne, from central London, had applied for student registration in 2010 and 2013 and had declared the conviction on both occasions. Both applications were refused by the registrar on the grounds that her admission would seriously undermine public confidence in the profession.

The committee heard that Payne, who was 18 at the time of the offence, served 21 months in prison for attempting to smuggle 8kg of cocaine in her hand luggage onto a flight to London from Rio de Janiero.