Dominican singer can be held for year in drug case

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A judge in the Dominican Republic ruled Monday that the winner of a TV talent show can be held in jail for up to a year while authorities investigate her alleged involvement in drug smuggling.

Martha Heredia, a 22-year-old Dominican singer who was a winner of the show “Latin American Idol,” was arrested at a Dominican airport on Wednesday as she was about to board a flight to New York. Police allege she had 2.9 pounds (1.3 kilograms) of heroin stuffed in the heels of three pairs of platform shoes.