Egypt frees British holidaymaker jailed for carrying 300 banned painkillers
A British woman who was jailed in Egypt for taking nearly 300 banned Tramadol painkillers into the country has been pardoned and is on her way home to Hull.
Laura Plummer, 34, was pardoned by Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah el Sisi as part of Revolution Day celebrations, after serving just over a year of her three-year sentence.
Plummer was jailed after the painkillers, which are illegal in Egypt, were found in her luggage as she arrived in Hurghada for a two-week holiday in October 2017.
She claimed the 290 tablets were for her Egyptian partner Omar Caboo, who suffers from severe back pain, and that she had no idea she was doing anything wrong.
She received the jail term in December 2017. The three-year sentence was regarded as lenient as her family had been warned she could face up to 25 years in prison or even the death penalty.
In September 2018, she appealed on the grounds that she did not know the drugs were banned.
But the appeal court ruled ignorance of the law was not a defence and said the original court decision should stand.
Her sister, Jayne Sinclair, told Sky News she was collecting Laura from a police station and they were heading straight to the airport.
Ms Sinclair added the paperwork was finalised on Sunday and the Egyptian authorities ‘want her out of the country on the next available flight’ and will escort the pair to the airport.
Plummer spoke to The Sun newspaper, saying: "My two-week holiday in the sun turned into a nightmare.
"I’m so happy to be going home. I mean, who goes on holiday for two weeks and then stays 14 months?
"I just wish I wasn’t being deported.
"But I promise you – I’ll never set foot in an airport again."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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