Drug smuggler's story backed by computer evidence - family

Sharon Armstrong was a former Maori Lanuage commissioner and is now in a prison in Argentina on drug smuggling charges. Photo / supplied

Lawyers for a former top New Zealand public servant accused of cocaine smuggling in Argentina have found evidence on her laptop computer that backs her story, her family says.

Former Maori Language Commission deputy chief executive Sharon Armstrong was arrested in Buenos Aires on April 13 after airport police allegedly found the drugs hidden in her luggage.

Ms Armstrong, 54, has said she was tricked into becoming an drug mule by her online boyfriend.

She said she went to Argentina to collect documents for the man.

A family representative told Radio New Zealand her lawyers have yet to decide whether they will seek a defended court hearing.

A copy of the laptop hard drive has been kept in New Zealand.

- NZPA