Foreign Office alert for 47 countries over airport arrests
Officials issued new advice in the wake of a number of high profile cases involving UK citizens
The Foreign Office today issues a serious warning for people travelling to 47 countries from the UK - and added 'expecgt severe penalties'. Officials have updated the travel advice on gov.uk websites in the wake of a number of high profile drugs arrests involving British citizens.
And they said people were likely to be caught carrying illegal drugs, including cannabis, because many countries have upgraded their airport scanning devices. If caught people can face huge jail sentences in appalling prisons and potentially even the death sentence.
The advice has been issued for 47 countries - including some of the UK's favourite holiday hotspots such as Spain, Francie, Portugal, Croatia, Italy and Cyprus. In one update for Spain the Foreign Office warned: 'Illegal drugs, including cannabis, carry severe penalties. You should expect a long jail sentence and heavy fines for possessing, using or smuggling illegal drugs, including when transiting through airports. Possession of even a small quantity of drugs can lead to arrest and detention.
'Airports in Spain have excellent technology and security for detecting illegal items. This is also used to scan the baggage of transiting passengers.'
Full list of countries in warning:
Burundi, Slovenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Sweden, Lichtenstein, Norway, Finland, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Portugal, Hungary, Denmark, Poland, Romania Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Iceland, Malta, France, Spain, Kosovo, Armenia, Switzerland, Belgium, Latvia, Moldova, Montenegro, Nigeria, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Rwanda, Bosnia and Hertzegovena, Bulgaria, Georgia, North Macedonia, Turkey, USA, Albania, Lithuania, Slovakia, Austria, Netherlands, Ireland, Croatia, Serbia, Belarus,
A number of UK citizens are facing the courts after arrests in recent weeks. These include:
Jon Collyer, 38, and Lisa Stocker, 39, were arrested at Bali's international airport in February after being caught with 994g of cocaine, according to Balinese authorities. The pair appeared in court alongside Phineas Float, 31, who was allegedly due to receive the packages and was arrested a few days later.
All three defendants, who are from Hastings and St Leonards in East Sussex, could face the death penalty – the heaviest punishment for taking part in a drug transaction under Indonesian law.
It is alleged that Mr Collyer and Ms Stocker were caught with 17 packages of cocaine, with a value of roughly £300,000.
A 21-year-old woman is being held by police in Germany after allegedly travelling with cannabis from Thailand.
Authorities in Germany say Cameron Bradford, from Knebworth in Hertfordshire, was stopped and arrested at Munich Airport on 22 April.
Charlotte May Lee, 21, from south London, is accused of attempting to smuggle 101lbs (46kg) of the synthetic drug kush in her suitcase into Sri Lanka last month. The former flight attendant denies knowing there were drugs in her luggage and says she believes they were planted there.
Ms Lee is being held in a prison north of the south Asian country's capital, Colombo, and is contact with her family, her lawyer told the BBC. She could face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty.
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