A former New Zealand public servant says she is going through her "worst nightmare" after being arrested in Argentina allegedly with 5kg of cocaine.
Sharon Armstrong, former Maori Language Commission deputy chief executive, was arrested on April 13 after Buenos Aires Airport police allegedly found the cocaine hidden in a suitcase.
Ms Armstrong, 54, told The Dominion Post she was fooled into smuggling the drugs by a man she was dating online.
She wished to apologise to her family, who had repeatedly warned her she could have been the target of a scam, and said she had been a "silly old lady".
She said she was going through her "worst nightmare" and did not know where she would be tomorrow.
Conditions at the medium-security Federal Centre of Detention for Women in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires, where she was staying, were just passable, she said.
She had spoken to her family from the prison and had seen an allocated lawyer, who did not speak English.
A spokeswoman from the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry said embassy staff in Buenos Aires were due to meet her on Wednesday (local time) to provide assistance.
Ms Armstrong's cousin Kapoi Mathieson said was going to London to meet a man she had been dating online,
"To my understanding she was flying direct to London but he asked her to stop into Argentina and pick up some things for him for a new job," she said.
Ms Mathieson said her cousin was a victim of an internet scam and her so-called boyfriend had taken advantage of her.
"I think whoever this guy is he's taken advantage of her because she was lonely," she said.
"For her it was like a dream come true, she was over the moon that she was going to meet this man and she wanted all of us to be happy for her, that she'd finally found something real."
The man's Facebook page has since disappeared and Interpol is searching for him.
"Sharon is a lovely person, she's intelligent, articulate, very caring and community-oriented. She's a loving mother and grandmother. My sisters and I, we're just totally blown away by this news and we all know there's just no way that Sharon would do something like that knowingly."
New Zealand's ambassador to Argentina, Darryl Dunn, told NZPA he could not discuss details of the case and was unable to say whether charges had been laid.
"What I can tell you is that a New Zealander has been detained in Buenos Aires and we're providing consular assistance to that person.
"But I cannot provide any other details -- they remain confidential between the ministry and the client that we're assisting."
Mr Dunn said officials were aware of where the New Zealander was being detained and had been granted access.
Asked about conditions at the place of detention, Mr Dunn said he would "prefer not to comment".
Ms Armstrong was a probation officer in New Plymouth between 1990 and 1998. A former colleague said that with her experience it was difficult to imagine her being conned.
