to hope the Foreign Office don't waste any time on Laura Plummer...

[PiffleandWiffle]

She was stupid enough to smuggle drugs into a country against their laws, got caught & got sentenced.

BBC Link

Cue the predictable wailing & cries of "it's not fair" from the family!

Personally, I'd rather the Foreign Office spent it's time trying to help people who are genuinely in trouble abroad rather than idiots drug smugglers....

I travel with meds. If away for two weeks, 16 day supply of thyroxine, co-codomol 1 strip 30s, 1 strip 15s, 1 strip naproxen and one strip omeprazole (everything other than thyroxine is as a precaution).

DD travels with fluoxetine, propranolol, steroids and Ritalin. Enough for the trip and a couple of days in the event of delays.

I usually have repeat prescription slips in my handbag and my GP could confirm very quickly.

I have never worried about this but I don't think we would be banged up and tried based on what we carry and the available triangulation.

In that case, I think she has been used and abused by her husband

I am sure her family and the home office will fight her cause and she will come home before the 3 years are up.

The people I feel sorry for are one like the "Chennai Six", who spent FOUR YEARS in an Indian jail when working for an anti-piracy firm, despite all their weapons permits etc being in order. If anyone has any sympathy - let it go to people like them - legally doing a job of work to PROTECT commercial shipping against Somali pirates, and arrested and jailed for allegedly straying into Indian waters.

Yes, me too. The Govt did nothing to help these men. Not one single little thing. The way they were let down by the FO was shameful.

Would people be feeling as generous & willing for the FO to step in had she been caught with heroin or cocaine? It's a banned substance that she a) admits to obtaining illegally and b) tried to conceal. Both things scream guilt to me!

As for 'if it were your child would you be saying the same?' Yep absolutely. Having had a family member deported back to the UK from abroad for drugs, i can safely say had he been banged up for it instead it would have served him right. Tramadol is ridiculously addictive & can cause some horrific long term problems; i would view anybody trying to sell it/hand it off illegally exactly the same as i would somebody selling cocaine!!

Rainbows
Ritalin is a big no-no in Middle Eastern countries and was the reason that I couldn't go to Dubai with family.

@sandydenny

No, I don't know her but anybody with an ounce of common sense who check the legal situation before taking a huge quantity of medication to another country, especially one that might have strict drug laws. It's not unlikely that taking 300 tablets would raise an eyebrow, even in this country it's an unusual amount to have stock piled.

The kind of drugs being talked about here are CONTROLLED DRUGS, the ones where you sign the back of the prescription twice and usually come from the licked cabinet inside the pharmacy.

In which country?

In the UK tramadol is a prescription drug but sits on the shelf behind the counter during dispensing hours IME. I've never had to sign the back of a prescription even for the larger dose capsules, nor do I always collect in person.
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People in chronic and long term pain commonly get two months at a time and if your dosage is high that could easily be 300 tablets, especially if the prescription is for smaller individual dose capsules.

I avoid certain transit routes because although I have all the prescriptions/letters etc the hassle if someone at customs doesn't recognise your national style of prescriptions just isn't worth it.

I always take what I need for the duration plus a sizeable fudge factor as work trips can change in duration whilst away.

Courts use interpreters.
They may have had problems with the interpreter, not the translator.

I wish people would use the proper names.

Thanks PCL. It's not a part of the world we have visited. Out of interest, had we booked a trip to Dubai, would the booking forms, etc, have made this clear?

Tramadol is ridiculously addictive & can cause some horrific long term problems

Have you ever taken it long term for a chronic condition? There is a lot of bad information propagated about drugs used in chronic pain management, tramadol is no exception.

Surely you can get other painkillers in Eqypt?

In earlier reporting on this case, it said that Tramadol is used as a recreational drug in Egypt. That might have more to do with the 'husband' wanting her to bring some over than his 'bad back'.

In the UK tramadol is a prescription drug but sits on the shelf behind the counter during dispensing hours IME. I've never had to sign the back of a prescription even for the larger dose capsules, nor do I always collect in person
Sorry, you are right.

Tramadol does not have to be in the CD cabinet or require the double signatures but some pharmacies (including mine) are treating this schedule 3 CD drug as if it is a schedule 2 CD drug.

ggcprescribing.org.uk/blog/tramadol-and-changes-controlled-drug-legislation/

C8H yes, I was on tramadol long term myself. Started on the lower dose & worked up to 400mg a time. Even with the need for it, it can be addictive. And having seen people who then no longer require it but still 'need' it to cope? Anyone acquiring it without need deserves everything they get i'm afraid

The husband would have been planning to sell them on at a profit

RaindropsAndSparkles

I didn't know about Ritalin but Dubai is one of the transit points I try to avoid, even with a stack of paperwork to go with my medication. Most of the Middle East needs careful checking but these days I check ever single country. However I know this because my employer has a good advisory service and my pain management clinic warn about it.

I think the PP upthread is correct - the expansion of package tourism to wider destinations results in people assuming the rules are similar to those in most of Europe

Oh i'm with you, i think 'hubby' wanted the money from them. In the UK 100mg tramadol tabs go for a LOT of money....round where i am think £30+ 😱😱

Out of interest, had we booked a trip to Dubai, would the booking forms, etc, have made this clear?
I very much doubt it but here is some information for you -
www.fairtrials.org/list-of-controlled-pharmaceutical-substances-in-uae/

Methylphenidate (the drug name for the brand Ritalin / Concerta XL / Medikinet) is on the narcotics list and all drugs on this list have the following rule -
"They may not be imported into UAE. Possession of these drugs, with or without a prescription, may lead to a prison sentence"

I am sure that some people get away with taking these drugs into the UAE everyday but it doesn't mean that you or I will.

Even with the need for it, it can be addictive.

Yes it can be but for people in long term pain, as part of a management strategy it very rarely is and the scare stories stop people accessing effective pain management. They may lose effectiveness as some patients build a tolerance but that is miles away from taking them as addictive behaviour.
I've lost count of the (completely unqualified) people who have told me that "drugs can't be good for you". Well yes, there are side effects to any drug but the alternative is to be unable to function.

Addictive problems tend to arise when they are prescribed in isolation over long periods rather than being part of a long term management and treatment strategy. As you probably know, regular moderate doses can reduce overall intake when compared to "as needed" higher doses.

Anyone acquiring it without need deserves everything they get i'm afraid

This I agree with although the scare stories mean many patients who could benefit are doing without effective pain relief.

Unfortunately being a complete fool can sometimes have bad consequences. This is one of those cases.

She pops to Egypt every few months to see her sex partner, and takes drugs over for him on request. At 33 she ought to have more sense.

And as an aside if anyone has missed it - don't take anything containing codeine to Greece. It is illegal there.

The FCO, as a matter of successive government policy and international norm, offers consular assistance to all and any British nationals arrested abroad. I think this is entirely right.

That assistance means things like ensuring you are being treated fairly in accordance with the laws of the country, that you can understand what is hapoeneing (they can signpost, but do not pay for reliable lawyers and interpreters) and ensure that the conditions under which you are held are not worse than those for other prisoners. They will also make a stand against any form of prisoner abuse (inhumane ot degrading treatment, denying medical treatment etc).

They may also get involved if your trial is not help in a timely fashion, or there is no prospect of a trial.

They will also check your eligibility for transfer to prison in UK if there is an agreement with that country to move prisoners. And yes, that includes smugglers, rapists, murderers

They will also protest against any death sentence, even when handed down correctly in that country, and make a plea for clemency and commuting the sentence to life imprisonment (many countries which do not have the death penalty do this for their nationals convicted abroad). It may well not work, but it is always attempted.

They do not however seek to overturn what appear to be sound convictions for criminal offences. They may get involved with apparent 'political' offences and miscarriages of justice.

If this family feel that the conviction was unsound, and have evidence that she did not carry in the drugs, then of course the FCO should be involved. I do not however thing that is what has happened here. Her sentence is 3 years (maximum 25 years or, if with aggravating features, death) which is by local terms lenient. And Egyptian prisons are not of the standard of UK ones, but I've not heard that she is in worse conditions than the country norm. Does anyone know if that is the case?

FCO role now should be to see if transfer to serve her sentence in UK can be secured, and as quickly as possible.

Tramadol is a Class C drug in the UK. The maximum sentence here for illegal possession is 2 years. For supplying it, it is 14 years.

www.talktofrank.com/drug/tramadol

C8H i haven't ever seen the potential addiction factor scare off anyone who genuinely needs it, the warning is a must just as it would be for codeine or oramorph (just two other painkillers i know can be addictive). What it does however is suggest that the risks if you don't need them to begin with are very real. I personally had to wean myself off tramadol eventually because I was becoming too used to the dose i was on. If you need it, it's fab. If you don't, it's bloody dangerous.

To be honest , I'd rather my taxpayers' money (presumably she and her family are included) went on this case and ensuring Laura Plummer is safe and healthy than a lot of the other stuff my money is spent on.

If this family feel that the conviction was unsound, and have evidence that she did not carry in the drugs, then of course the FCO should be involved.

Why do you put in the qualifier, "and have evidence that she did not carry in the drugs"?

Astrid the coverage I saw hardly mentioned the woman's culpability. It concentrated very much on Egypt's 'complicated' legal system, the boyfriend's involvement and pretty much implied that Egypt was a dangerous, corrupt county desperate to jail white women.

Like our legal system is simple! Like we don't put vulnerable women (I have no idea if this woman is vulnerable) in jail for drug offences, as if white British men do not coerce women into being drug mules in the UK.

It was all so predictable and much of that has been echoed on this thread.

The Labour MP ranting about English people not taking their business to Egypt was pathetic. It smacked of colonial thinking 'bloody Johnny Foreigner daring to tell us what to do!'

Have the media learned nothing from the MMc case? They wound the Portuguese authorities up by portraying the police as thick, siesta loving morons and the government as incompetent.

I do have sympathy for this woman. She is a human being and must be terrified. The FO need to do their job, whatever that is. I don't believe that inhumane prison conditions are right for anyone. If they have a role in alleviating suffering they should fulfil that role.

I don't like a. the glee about this woman being punished or b. the desperation to make it anyone's (as long as they are brown) fault apart from her's.