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AIBU?

to think you don't bring 290 tramadol tablets to a foreign country if they aren't even yours

143 replies

pisacake · 04/11/2017 14:50

www.thesun.co.uk/news/4838770/holiday-brit-arrest-jail-tramadol-prescription-pill/

"Laura flew to Hurghada airport on October 9 for a fortnight stay with hubby Omar, 33. They met four years ago and she jets out to see him four times a year.

He suffers back pain after an accident, so she took 29 strips of tramadol, each containing ten tablets, plus some Naproxen given to her by a pal.

In Britain tramadol is prescription only, but it is banned in Turkey where addicts use it as a heroin substitute.

A pill sells for 8p — meaning Laura could have made just £23.20 even if she wanted to."

It's an opiate so obviously a controlled drug with a very high abuse potential. Some countries you'd get arrested even if you had a prescription.

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greendale17 · 04/11/2017 14:51

Since it is prescription only where did she get her hands on 29 strips of the stuff? Stupid girl

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IFellDownAHole · 04/11/2017 14:54

She must have bought I online, from a dealer or be using someone else’s prescription. It one thing to look in your cupboard, spot you’ve got a few left and bring them over. She was taking nearly 300!

Either her husband is an addict or will be selling them. Also I would have thought in a country where tramadol is illegal it would sell for a lot more than 8p. I wonder if that’s the cost price of the drug.

Daft cow.

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Hissy · 04/11/2017 14:59

“Husband”

Mug more like. She sees him 4x a year. It’s a fake relationship and she’s getting drugs for him to sell

It’s usually that or viagra

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Hissy · 04/11/2017 15:01

8p is what they’d sell for in egyptian £LE but converted back to GP£

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chocolateorangeowls · 04/11/2017 15:07

I have a pot of them in my kitchen cupboard from when my dog was hit by a car. They made him very sleepy so I stopped giving him them ASAP and have just kept them in the cupboard, no idea they were so strong

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Akire · 04/11/2017 15:10

I’ve had them
Before too, woulnt have thought they were that bad. Not sure I would have checked presume normal painkillers. Though usually have to be in named box for yourself.

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Akire · 04/11/2017 15:11

If they are herion substitute then I’m never wasting money on herion! Sleepy but hardly a hit

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pisacake · 04/11/2017 15:12

When we went to Sharm Viagra was being touted freely.

The Guardian has it as the husband being Egyptian, which makes much more sense than him being Turkish but living in Egypt.

www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/04/british-woman-languishes-in-egypt-jail-for-carrying-painkillers

According to this, Tramadol is the number 1 recreational drug in Egypt, so the stuff about back pain is obviously bollocks.

www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21648690-painkiller-becomes-egypts-favourite-recreational-drug-pill-work-and-play
www.cairoscene.com/BusinessAndPolitics/Tramadol-Officially-the-Most-Abused-Drug-in-Egypt
"Tramadol is the number one illicit drug abused by a whopping 40.7 % of Egyptian drug users."
"Trying to curb its exponential rise, a law was passed that would fine and possibly sentence abusers to prison, if caught possessing the dangerously addictive drug without a prescription. Part of its popularity was due to it widespread availability at ridiculously low price of LE1 per 225mg pill. Recently the price has risen with the cost hovering around LE15/pill."

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PinkHeart5914 · 04/11/2017 15:13

Husband that you only see 4 times a year, wtf? Confused Yes love I’ll marry you and see you 4 times I year when I bring you drugs

She must be buying online or stealing them off someone that is being prescribed them. Why did the pal give her some as well, some people really are stupid

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pisacake · 04/11/2017 15:13

15 EGP is more like 65p, so the 8p doesn't seem to be accurate.

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bevelino · 04/11/2017 15:20

It seems likely there is far more to this story than she is letting on.

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Capricorn76 · 04/11/2017 15:22

Sorry but her story doesn't add up at all. I think they've been monitoring her and have her bang to rights.

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wonkylegs · 04/11/2017 15:22

I think your title should be 'especially if they are not yours'

I take serious prescription painkillers / meds for RA and have done for 20yrs and every time I go abroad I double check what I can or can't take with me. I never assume what I can take here is ok abroad. She seemed to be doing the stupid defence if 'I'm British so it'll be fine', she clearly knew they were illegal or she wouldn't have to take them to him and he could get his own. I have no sympathy.

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SaucyJack · 04/11/2017 15:23

YANBU.
I'd have had sympathy for her (or anyone) who found themselves arrested for carrying legitimately prescribed medication for personal use.

But that isn't the case here. The whole thing is fishier than a Finding Nemo cast reunion.

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silkpyjamasallday · 04/11/2017 15:23

My DM had tramadol prescribed for a slipped disc, she only took two as they made her feel too spaced out. She often jokes she could sell the remainder and make a fortune, the street value is far far higher than 8p per tablet. People pay a couple of quid for a Valium tablet to use recreationally (I know several old school mates who deal it along with things like Ritalin), tramadol is much harder to get hold of so would be worth more like £5-10 a tablet I would assume. It would take a long long time to get through 300 odd tablets, so I doubt they were just for her husbands back pain. The obvious sham marriage isn't in her favour either. I don't agree with the heavy handed treatment of foreigners who break the law in Egypt and Dubai, but if you travel there frequently there is no excuse for breaking the law as she did, she must have known the risks.

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HarveySchlumpfenburger · 04/11/2017 15:25

'She had no idea she was doing anything wrong'.

I'm not sure that excuse works if you have 300 tramadol tablets for somebody else. She must have had an idea she was doing something wrong when she got hold of them.

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pisacake · 04/11/2017 15:25

Yes anything with abuse potential needs to be checked, so opiates, benzodiazepines, sleeping pills, barbiturates, amphetamines/ADD medication, steroids, etc.

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kali110 · 04/11/2017 15:26

Does anyone know, countries that these drugs are banned, are you allowedto bring them if you actually have a prescription?

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Glumglowworm · 04/11/2017 15:27

She's a fucking moron

I'm not condoning the death penalty or the conditions she's being kept in

But shes clearly done something dodgy in the UK to get her hands on so many of a prescription only drug. Which the article never explains. Then taking such vast quantities of a prescription drug to another country, for someone else. Sheer stupidity, at best, intentional drug smuggling at worst.

She doesn't deserve to die for it though. Punishment yes, but not death penalty.

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kali110 · 04/11/2017 15:29

You dont take 290 for a 2 week holiday so i dnt believe that at all.
Also dont believe how she got them in the first place.

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Ktown · 04/11/2017 15:31

Daft Brits must be costing the foreign office a fortune.

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Ceto · 04/11/2017 15:32

Surely she must have wondered why her husband couldn't get the tablets for himself? At best it's unbelievably naive.

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SurfaceThroughTheWaves · 04/11/2017 15:33

I had these after my c section. They were ok. But yeah she’s either stupid, naive or a wrong un.

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pisacake · 04/11/2017 15:33

"Does anyone know, countries that these drugs are banned, are you allowedto bring them if you actually have a prescription?"

You need to check on a case-by-case basis.

"She doesn't deserve to die for it though. Punishment yes, but not death penalty."

I don't think that is likely for this quantity.

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PurplePillowCase · 04/11/2017 15:34

Does anyone know, countries that these drugs are banned, are you allowedto bring them if you actually have a prescription?
you could get into real trouble if you were caught with prescription opiates in dubai.

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