Woman in jail in Egypt for smuggling in painkillers
 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...41316.html?amp

This is the second article I've read on this story. I've read that the prescription drugs she had a large quantity of are a hot commodity in Egypt.

I'm not really buying the defense that she didn't realise she was doing wrong. I think she and the boyfriend were hoping to cash in.

Anyone else have an opinion?

290 pills is a bit much really. I didn't see in the article if she hid them in her suitcase or if they were in plain view, that would be the telling evidence really

Tramadol is a prescription drug, Naproxen can be purchased over the counter in a chemist. I doubt very much that she thought she was doing anything wrong but nobody should go abroad without checking what medication you can take with you or have to report taking with you.

Its tragic and we need to get her home asap.

Street value of £23 in Egypt.
Sounds rather cheap to me, and certainly not worth risking jail for.
If the tramadol are 50mg then 8 a day could easily be taken, if her boyfriend really does have a bad back it should be easy enough to check on, surely there will be some record of his crash and injury.
I will give her the benefit of the doubt here.:shrug:

I can't get past tramadaol actually being used as a heroin substitute in Egypt tbh. Its so weak. Its utterly useless for me, and I had to take 300mg+ per time to feel ANY effect whatsoever, and even then it did nothing besides make me feel a bit like I was on speed :laugh:

This woman is an absolute idiot, people need to check the rules of the country you are taking meds to, especially when its outside the EU. And even inside the EU, you cannot be taking stuff with you that you don't have a prescription for.

25 years for smuggling is a bit much mind. But she clearly knew she was doing something wrong by taking prescription only pills into a different country for someone else without a prescription. The wide eyed innocence is pretty daft.

They are a prescription drug, but not her prescription. Someone gave them to her to take out to her boyfriend for his bad back, apparently. Stupid, stupid thing to do.

Bring our Laura home!


Laura is being held in a cell about the size of her bedroom back home with 25 other women. She can hardly breathe.

Her fellow inmates are trying to look after her, but nobody speaks her language. Her spirits are at rock bottom. She's dreaming of getting home, catching up with Emmerdale, sleeping in her own bed and having a cup of tea.

She had no idea they were illeagal.

Her mother and brother who have been flying back and forwards to visit her, say she was breaking down, begging them to take her home.

i read somewhere that she got a prescription from the chemist and then popped the pills as she got them into her bag.

But .... how did she get the prescription in the first place. Did she falsely go to the doctor to get the prescription as these weren't for her. A doctor is not going to write a prescription for someone living in Egypt.

While one wants to believe she made a silly mistake, her story has holes in it. There is deception involved along the way.

As Livia has already said, the Tramadol was given to her by a friend.

Even so, it's pretty sick that there's talk of taking away her life. Pain killers are help to people in pain.

Some cultures are better then others.

She must surely have asked the question, why do i need to bring these pills, can you not get them there. The only response would be because those are illegal here. The story really doesn't add up

Its easy to make too much of this. It could have just been a case that he really did have a bad back. She may have mentioned this to her friend, telling him she'd purchased some over the counter Naproxen for him and her friend could have said, "I've got a Tramadol that I no longer need?"

It could of all been perfectly innocent. People shouldn't do it but they pass on unused prescription meds all the time.

Yes Strict rules
Hard Working Nation

I have dealt with high level
from this nation.

Respect all rules
Is Number 1. For Egypt

The street value should be the key here, I think maybe she was a bit naive rather than trying to cash in

Does anyone know if her Egyptian boyfriend is standing by her?

Why is the fact she's a woman relevant at all? she tried to smuggle deadly drugs into a country because she thinks her getting money is more important than people's physical health and safety. she's a selfish piece of ****. if she didn't;t care about the health of the people who would consume those drugs, why should i care about her physical safety now? she deserves to rot, just like the poor victims of her drugs that she was more than willing to provide to people with the disease addiction.

Everyone in Britain must be aware about how risky it could be taking any kind of drugs into certain countries and would be over cautious. She was either entirely stupid or knew exactly what she was doing. I tend to favour the latter. I find it difficult to believe she was that stupid.

When I went to Mexico last year I borrowed a work colleagues suitcase. In the Mexican airport my name was called out and a bemused me was taken into a private room and asked if I had packed my own suitcase. I said I had, but as I said it I suddenly thought, 'this isn't my case. What's hidden in the lining?. I hadn't checked before packing.

As it happened, part of the hard covering behind the lining had crumbled and and it had appeared that I was hiding something.

I was stupid to borrow someone's suitcase and not unzip and check behind the lining but people do stupid things all the time. You only have to look at the overflowing disposal bucket at baggage check in the UK to see how unthinking some people are when flying abroad.

I think that is different, an innocent oversight - what she did was sheer stupidity - at best.

The difference is you had no reason to think someone would be hiding drugs in your case. This female clearly knew exactly what she was doing.

They were due in court on Saturday and the boyfriend went along to say that they were for his bad back, however the case/trial got moved. So yes he's standing by her.

She lives in the same constituency as me and our MP Karl Turner is trying to help out all he can.

Thanks for that Alf.

I think she did know what she was doing, but didn't realise the seriousness of the consequences. It's wasn't the usual Thailand etc, it wasn't the usual heroin/cocaine, so she probably didn't think it would be a big deal if she got caught in possession.

I'm surprised at the potential consequences, but really can't see the Egyptians carrying through on the most severe penalty. They rely too much on UK support

She got 3 years

The price of the painkillers she had on her cost less than her plane ticket.

https://news.sky.com/story/briton-la...gling-11184683

Yes she should have checked