THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
A British woman has been convicted of smuggling 300 painkiller tablets into Egypt and jailed for three years and fined the equivalent of $5,611.
Laura Plummer, 33, was arrested on 9 October at Hurghada International Airport on the Red Sea after police reportedly found 290 tablets of tramadol in her suitcase. Tramadol is a strong painkiller used to treat moderate to severe pain.
Plummers claimed the tablets, legal on prescription in the UK but banned in Egypt, were to treat her Egyptian partner’s back pain.
While tramadol is legal in many countries as a prescription painkiller, it is illegal for a private individual to sell it in Egypt, where it is popular among lower-income sectors.
Her family said her lawyers had lodged an appeal against the court verdict. Plummer previously said she had “no idea” the tablets were illegal.
It is not clear when an appeal against her sentence might be heard.
In a statement, the British Foreign Office said it “will continue to provide assistance to Laura and her family following the court ruling in Egypt, and our embassy is in regular contact with the Egyptian authorities.”
Vivian Asamoah
