Laura Plummer
A British woman facing the death penalty for smuggling painkillers
into Egypt said she had 'no idea' the drugs were illegal when she packed
them before embarking on holiday, Dailymail has reported.
The woman identified as Laura Plummer, 33, was arrested after
entering the country with 300 Tramadol pills she said were for her
Egyptian boyfriend’s injured back. The drug, widely prescribed in
Britain, is strictly controlled in Egypt and can only be brought in with
government permission.
The shop assistant from Hull was taken into custody where she
remains in a cramped police cell alongside 25 other women as she waits
for her court hearing tomorrow.
Speaking today, Miss Plummer said the drugs were given to her by a colleague to help with her boyfriend's back problems.
'I didn't even look in bag,' she said. 'I can't tell you how stupid I feel.'
Her family say they fear they will be forced to fly home without
her after being told it is highly unlikely the 33-year-old will be
released due to the severity of the alleged crime.
Plummer's family are supporting her
She told the BBC she was being held in a cell at a police station
which was about the size of her bedroom in the UK but holding 25 other
women. Describing her spirits as at 'rock bottom', she told the media
organisation she dreamt of coming home and sleeping in her own bed.
Miss Plummer added that she was struggling to breathe but her
fellow prisoners were trying to console her though none speak English.
The 33-year-old is due in court tomorrow.
In a note from her cell, the sales assistant wrote previously: 'Please
help me get out of this hellhole. I don’t know what’s happening. I’m
scared. I had no idea that what I was doing was wrong. I thought I was
doing a good deed.'
A family member told MailOnline they are desperate for her to be granted bail.
'All we want now is for her to get out of prison. We are
confident that the police investigation will show she is innocent. That
might take time, but at least she will be free.'
But the family source said they had accepted they will not be able
to fly back with Ms Plummer when they leave Hurghada on Sunday.
'That was what we hoped for but we have been told it is very unlikely.'
Her lawyer told MailOnline the judge will either grant her bail or
order her to be locked up a further 15 days so police can continue their
investigation. Lawyer Mohamed Osman said: 'Laura will not be free after the court case. She will either get bail or sent back to the prison for another 15 days.'
The shop worker from Hull has spent a month in a 'hell hole'
detention centre since being arrested on October 9th. Osman has been
representing the family after an intervention by the British embassy in
Cairo.
Plummer's Egyptian boyfriend
A previous lawyer who offered to help her took a £10,000 fee and
vanished. Osman, who has worked with the British Embassy on other cases,
runs his own law firm called Egypt Advocates.
She will be brought to the court in a blue prison van and if other
women are due to appear they will be shackled together. Her mother
Roberta, sister Jayne and brother Kirk, who flew out to Hurghada, plan
to be at the court to support her.
While being granted bail would be a huge step forward another
lawyer familiar with drugs cases said the judge might consider the
British holidaymaker a flight risk.
'Once this woman is out there is nothing stopping her applying
to the embassy for another passport. It is unlikely given her high
profile now from all the publicity but the judge might decide anyway.'
The three family members who flew out to Hurghada were able to
spend over an hour with her during a prison visit on Thursday afternoon.
They took in three bags packed with food supplies but have not
commented publically about her condition.
Sister Jayne has previously said Laura was suicidal while her mum
said she was almost unrecognisable when she last visited her. The family
members in Hurghada have been keeping a low profile and rarely leaving
the five star seafront hotel where they are staying.
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