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AIBU?

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Original poster

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

684 replies

PiffleandWiffle · 26/12/2017 22:09

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....

OP posts:
ILoveDolly · 27/12/2017 08:54

I think, considering how readily available information is nowadays, and how well known the dangers of drug trafficking, that she deserves no sympathy!

Roussette · 27/12/2017 08:54

Also this doesn't exactly tie up with her complete ignorance plea.

This was from a local newspaper...

BRITISH shop worker Laura Plummer, aged 33 from Hull, UK smuggled drugs hidden in paracetamol boxes hidden in folds of her clothing and different parts of her luggage to avoid detection for her "Urfi" husband but was caught by Border Control based on her suspicious behaviour.

makeourfuture · 27/12/2017 08:55

Overtaken by events. She's been tried, convicted and sentenced to 3 years. The trial was 2.5 months after her arrest, so no undue delay.

It seems so. I am not too well versed on Civil Law. But unless there is some way to show some sort of miscarriage of justice, I would think following whatever appeals system is in place is just about her only option.

I am not even sure if mens rea exists in Egyptian civil law. It could be a case of, "Here's the code prohibiting the act, here are the pills in your suitcase.....Guilty".

If you compare it to say David Simpson, the pilot arrested for murder by witchcraft in the Central African Republic - in that situation, questions existed about human rights issues. Whether the trial was fair, or even rational (it seemed bribery was the accepted defense mechanism).

But this situation looks legitimate.

Roussette · 27/12/2017 09:01

And this is UK law. Ignorance is really no excuse is it...

“Having tramadol that is not prescribed for you for your own use (called illegal possession) could result in up to two years in prison and/or an unlimited fine. While selling or giving tramadol away for free, even to friends (called supplying) could result in up to fourteen years in prison and/or an unlimited fine. “

ButchyRestingFace · 27/12/2017 09:02

I'm not a stupid or naive person but until this case I'd had no reason to have ever heard of it.

Nor did I. So I could have been caught out.

However, what I wouldn’t have been caught out for is taking a large amount of a controlled drug that wasn’t prescribed for me and was illegally obtained in the UK (never mind Egypt) by a “colleague”.

Especially not for someone who “didn’t know” I was bringing them for him.

Piggywaspushed · 27/12/2017 09:07

But Roussette a) you had to google to find that out and b) I bet loads of people do it notwithstanding.

The same law applies to any prescription meds, with varying degrees of sentence and I think, even on a a technicality you can't 'supply' your own paracetamol to others. They have to willingly take it from you, rather than you suggesting it. The law is quite convoluted on non street drugs.

I do regularly give my DS my allergy medication.

SenoritaViva · 27/12/2017 09:07

I think she was very stupid at best.

The circumstances in which she finds herself is truly awful, if it was my daughter/sister I would do all I could to get her out of there. Nevertheless I think, for Egypt, they've been relatively lenient on her and she unfortunately has to do the time. I understand the family wanting to fight to reduce this.

I don't mind them having some support from the foreign office.

BubblesBuddy · 27/12/2017 09:10

Surely most remotely sensible people would not take such large quantities of prescription drugs into another country for another person unless they were very dim?

I wondered if the boyfriend really needs them for himself or whether he wanted to sell them. She appears to not have considered any obvious problems with doing this. Some people just don’t see a bigger picture and this was months worth of the drugs.

Apparently the FO, until a few days ago, didn’t warn about taking this drug to Egypt. I doubt LP would have read the FO site anyway but I guess they now have to spell out every pitfall of going to a Country. That should include dodgy boyfriend alerts too.

mydogisthebest · 27/12/2017 09:11

No sympathy for her whatsoever. Her sister was on tv this morning bleating about how unfair it is.

Stupid cow will have learned her lesson now

AdidasGirl · 27/12/2017 09:11

I'm another who is prescribed Tramadol for my condition.
I am only given 28 pills at a time.
The prescription has to be physically picked up and not just electronically sent like all my other Meds.
Of course she knew what was what.
3 Years and she should think herself extremely lucky.

SenoritaViva · 27/12/2017 09:17

On another note however, I would like to see an investigation/prosecution into the person who supplied LP with the drugs in this country.

comingintomyown · 27/12/2017 09:17

They were hidden in paracetamol boxes distributed amongst her luggage ...enough said

londonista · 27/12/2017 09:20

I hope the foreign office is helping her and the family.

She must have gone to a lot of effort and careful planning to get hold of that many pills so I don’t buy it at all that she didn’t know it was illegal or could get her into trouble.

Even so, she’s a British citizen and entitled to help from our consulate to understand the process and what’s happening to her. I don’t think she should be spared, I just think it’s reasonable to ask the consulate for help in working out what to do. They can and do say no if they think it’s a piss take!

Btw if you’re bringing drugs into another country you should check. My mum basically rattles when she walks so she takes doctors letters with her when she goes to Japan, and only has enough for the prescribed dose for the length of her visit. For another example codeine is not an OTC drug in Australia anymore, and you need to show ID to buy pseudo ephedrine so you could get into trouble bringing both of these into Oz - how many new that?

Idreamofalandrover · 27/12/2017 09:21

Yabu

She's still a citizen, a sign of a good society is how we treat the poor/stupid/criminal.

londonista · 27/12/2017 09:21

Coming ... yes I don’t think she has a leg to stand on, she definitely knew!

Piggywaspushed · 27/12/2017 09:24

I wonder what suitably MN narrative would allow some PPs to feel an iota of pity for the woman?

There are clashing stories about the luggage. She answered yes to a question which appeared to be a reading out of charges (I would!) and that was taken a s a guilty plea, she has been manipulated and exploited by a man. But she's a bit thick and wears lots of make up so she deserves all she gets. Shock

TheRottweiler · 27/12/2017 09:26

Emmagrundy

Total rubbish that you 'can't get hold of 300 Tramadol'.

I have about 900 Tramadol in my house at this moment in time.

I take 8 a day, every day. I have been taking it for nearly 5 years.

But, in the early days of taking it, I was only taking 2 a day. ....then 4 a day....then 6 a day....I still collected my monthly prescription, so they have now mounted up.

I have 3 'spare' boxes with 240 in each box. Plus the box I am using up at the moment.

When I go abroad I always take a letter from my doctor, saying what they are and what they are for, in my name.

Simples.

Dailystuck71 · 27/12/2017 09:27

I recently had my gallbladder taken out. Prior to that I was prescribed tramdaol by my GP. I got it in a box of 100 tablets without asking. All I am saying here is that it is potentially easy enough to have it prescribed in large quantities.

Piggywaspushed · 27/12/2017 09:27

adidas you have a prescription which your GP is tightly controlling.

It is, however, perfectly easy to get more than this online.

My GP prescribed my DH 5 days worth of paracodol for back pain. I easily then went to Tescos and bought 32 more. I could have gone to many more supermarkets I obviously didn't and chemists and got loads.

FrancisCrawford · 27/12/2017 09:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Piggywaspushed · 27/12/2017 09:28

Rottweiler do you think if LP had had a letter (obviously she couldn't have done as she didn't buy them), she would have been let off? In Egypt? Just wondered if you know?

Roussette · 27/12/2017 09:29

I agree Piggy yes I did have to google to find that but I would honesly google anything that I wasn't 100% sure about when travelling abroad. I'm always doing it but I'm a person who likes to know!

As she was setting up the supply of 300 tablets, she would've known that it was against UK law... let alone a muslim country like Egypt

PersianCatLady · 27/12/2017 09:29

Not only is Tramadol only available on prescription it is also a controlled drug.

Behindthedoor · 27/12/2017 09:30

I agree with OP.

The indignation of the family and their MP is staggering.

The woman had already broken the law before she left the UK.

nannybeach · 27/12/2017 09:30

It is a huge amount of tablets, her boyfriend lives there so he knows the law, her family said she was niave,she is 33, a lot of countried will not even accept a letter from a GP, china bans chewing gum. She had to obtain multiple presriptions, so must presumably lied, even on-line, you have to answer a very comprehensive list of uestions to obtain drugs, even heartburn meds. originally, they said she might face 25 years or even the death penalty.

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