Any sympathy for the British drug mule in Georgia?

[mids2019]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14723481/drug-mule-suspect-company-director-Chinese-retailers-Amazon.html

I was reading about this girl and actually do have a little symapthy. She is obviously vain, stupid, misguidedly ambitious but I don't know whether she is real player in the drug trade and has probably been groomed into carrying drugs by men promising her the earth.

The penalties for drug smuggling are understandably harsh on Georgia but should the UK try and get her to serve a sentence in the UK?

I was asked to carry a bag through an airport once when I was about 18/19 on the way to Malia , I said no, they offered me VIP entry to clubs, that I wouldn't pay for a drink all week, and then a little cash for my troubles. I was from a poor background and en route to a party destination where I knew drugs were rife then saw me as an easy mark. I said no. Things like that don't come without risk. I do think as a young person she should serve her sentence in the UK though, Georgia doesn't have the best record in terms of basic human rights.

Actually, it's known that the brain does not reach full cognitive functioning until at least age 25, which is why teens are much more likely to take risks. They may be legally an adult, and of course most don't take huge risks which land them in prison or dead, but they are all still developing. My own DD is very independent and sensible at 19 compared to many, but she definitely acts as if she's invincible and often needs support and advice from older adults at times to help her make more measured decisions; she often does things which leave my old cautious heart in my mouth, but it's part of the learning curve!

I have sympathy for her. Shes very young. A lot of people would be surprised at what their darling children get up to. A lot of them are taking class a drugs when they are away at uni, on holidays or at festivals.

No one wants their child banged up abroad.

It's hard to believe anyone can be this naive but obviously they are. Either that or she was naive regarding the consequences and thought she'd be ok. I'm finding it hard to believe anyone over the age of 12 would not realise the dangers.

No sympathy. Yes she has unfortunately been targeted and probably manipulated by some form of organised crime group , but she is old enough and smart enough to know that people who have wads of cash in used bank notes and ask you to carry suitcases that are full of stuff that isn’t yours to other countries are up to no good. I really hope she isn’t pregnant and has only said that in the hope it would get her some advantages in prison.

I think it's interest to compare the language here vs the language used on the thread about the young black man who had consensual sex with another teenager in Dubai. He wasn't naïve, he wasn't so young, he wasn't foolish or suggestible... and his "crime" isn't even a crime in most of the world.
Wonder why there's so much sympathy for this particular serial criminal?

I would say that she has been working on the quality control also so this is not going to help her with her bad decisions.

I feel sorry for her in that she's just a stupid little girl who has now ruined her own life.
However, this also falls into the category of "fuck around and find out."

My main question is though... Where are her parents??!

I don't know about you, but at 18 I was still under a fairly tight leash until I went off to uni. I was doing things like taking driving lessons and revising for my A-Levels. Not jetting off to the far east for a month on my own.

Indeed,lots of selfies with wads of cash.No sympathy from me.She knew what she was doing and now she is going for the innocent girl with pigtails,her socials tell a different story.

Girl crossing a border at 18 by herself while wearing nothing but very tiny shorts top (no bra) with a big suitcase full of hashish & weed that you can smell a mile away .

What can go wrong?

He got a 40 year jail sentence.
Justice Dubai style: British father, 33, is sentenced to 40 YEARS in hellhole jail... ONE WEEK after being caught with £2,000 of cocaine | Daily Mail Online

14kg though? Many 18 year old girls would have to be put an effort into even lifting a bag of 14kg, let alone nonchalantly carrying it through customs.

I feel very sorry for her and her family. Very young and naive.

What do you really know at 18? It takes a long time to grow up.

I do wonder why she was dressed like that? Basically it is like she was dragged out of the house.

I only remember lots of sympathy for the young , black guy and outrage at the girls mother.
But then I'm not looking for an angle that doesn't exist.

I don’t think she entirely knew the consequences

He looks like another intelligent chap.

No sympathy likewise with the other story about an air stewardess in Sri Lanka

She looks like she has at least part Georgian blood, she must have a family there who would look after her

What do you mean, Georgian blood? Have you been there?

She smuggled a large quantity of drugs into a country not well known for its adherence to human rights laws and well run prisons. Is “a good scare” an appropriate punishment ? Probably one of the reasons so few of the hundreds of thousands of young UK travellers are convicted of similar crimes, despite the temptations that they are likely to be offered by unscrupulous gangs, is because they know that the punishment for getting caught is a damn sight more frightening than a good scare.

It's an indicator that she cares more for money, than legalities.

OT, but the thought of second hand Chinese electrical goods, makes me shudder.

If at 18 she didn’t know that international drug smuggling = a long prison sentence, then something went wrong somewhere.

Yet another person sucked in by the easy glamorous life which is depicted on social media. When will people learn that there is no such thing as a free lunch? Having worked in a college, I despair at the naivety that some young people display in their behaviour and outlook on life today.
This young lady seemed only to show how easy it was for her to be duped into carrying out illegal activities and not with any sense of self awareness. Were her parents not showing her a moral outlook while she was growing up? That some things have a consequence? I am well aware that turning 18 is not an automatic switch that says I'm an adult but where was her guidance?
Parenting is not something in my opinion that ever stops and I have adult children. But to be able to talk about everything is the key to learning the art of negotiation, laugh at silly errors which we all make (saying how can you not know that?) and at times even develop their own conscience - which becomes the negative voice in their head that says - hold on, think about this, what will happens if I do xy and z?
The amount of drugs she was carrying was enormous and you are generally always asked at the airport - did you pack your own suitcase? What would have been her answer? She's young and she's an idiot for being taken in and now will have to face the consequences - she'll have to grow up now for sure.

No, it's in case she gets stopped. It's to get sympathy.