Kiwi man behind bars in Peru

Jesse Barry Prouse has been detained in Lima. Photo / Diario Trome-Peru

A 22-year-old New Zealander is being detained in Peru for allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine - one of a growing number of Kiwis banged up abroad.

Media reports said Jesse Barry Prouse was allegedly found at a Lima hostel on May 28 with 49 capsules of cocaine, which authorities believe he planned to smuggle to Europe.

His mother, Kim Nurney, rejected those allegations, claiming her son was a partying backpacker who had no intention of smuggling drugs.

She recently visited her son and said he was in a desperate state.

"The minimum sentence is six years. I told him, 'You might not be coming home until you're 28 years old.' My boy could become a man in this environment. It's so sad because he doesn't get it."

Prouse - who like his mother has been living in Australia - is being held at the Miguel Castro Castro Correctional Institution in Lima. New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance.

Consular representatives from the New Zealand Embassy in Chile - accredited to Peru - and the office of the New Zealand Honorary Consul in Lima had visited Prouse in prison and continue to provide support. The embassy and MFAT are providing advice and support to his family.

The justice system in Peru is notoriously slow. Despite Prouse being arrested in May, he has yet to be given a court date when he will face the drug smuggling charges.

According to MFAT figures, released under the Official Information Act, there has been an increase in the number of New Zealanders seeking consular assistance after being arrested abroad in the past three years.

In 2011/12, 104 Kiwis sought help after being arrested. The number increased to 117 in 2012/13 and jumped to 157 in 2013/14.

The highest number of arrests this year has been in China where 21 Kiwis have contacted their embassy. In 2012/13 it was the US with 12, and in 2011/12 it was Australia with 18.

Kiwis have been arrested in some of the most far-flung corners of the earth, including Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Egypt, Botswana, Oman and Papua New Guinea.

Fifty-four New Zealanders being held in detention as at August 29 have also sought consular assistance.

At that time, 14 were being held in the US, eight in Australia, six each in China and Thailand, three each in Canada and the United Arab Emirates and two each in Cambodia and Peru.

New Zealanders were also being detained in Ecuador, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Samoa and Vanuatu.

- Additional reporting Sunday Mail

New Zealanders were also being detained in Ecuador, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Samoa and Vanuatu.