The girls have pleaded not guilty to the charges

Yatunde Diya and Yasemin Vatansever, both 16, from north London, have been in custody since they were apprehended on 2 July.

They have appeared in the juvenile court in the Ghanaian capital Accra half-a-dozen times.

The prosecution is due to finish soon, then the court, which is closed to the public, will hear the girls' defence.

So far, five prosecution witnesses have given evidence in court.

'Tricked'

These included the officials who apprehended the two students as they waited to board a British Airways plane with more than 6kg (13lb) of cocaine concealed in laptop bags.

If found guilty, they would face up to three years in a juvenile prison.

The girls, who are both students, pleaded not guilty to the charges when they appeared at a youth court in court in Ghana on 27 July.

They say they were not aware of drugs in their luggage and had been tricked into carrying them.

Major trafficking route

The girls are being tried at a youth court under Ghana's Juvenile Justice Act which indicates their trial must be completed within six months and they can only be held on remand for three months.

West Africa has become a major drug-trafficking route - a stop-off point between South America and Europe.

Over the past nine months, British customs officials have worked with their Ghanaian counterparts to curb the practice.

So far, drugs worth �40m have been intercepted between Ghana and Britain.