6 days ago
Popular tourist hotspot makes big change to travel advice
A popular winter sun city break destination has seen travel advice issued by the UK government changed this week.
British tourists planning to visit Morocco have been warned by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office about the risks of carrying drugs in and out of the country, including Class B drug cannabis.
The North African country has severe penalties for tourists caught carrying illegal substances while transiting through Moroccan airports, with heavy fines and long jail sentences handed out.
The new Government travel advice issued yesterday says drug-detecting technology has been ramped up in recent years in the country.
Its advice now reads: '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 the airport.
'Airports in Morocco have excellent technology and security for detecting illegal items. This is also used to scan the baggage of transiting passengers.'
Tourism in Morocco continues to grow year-on-year, with around a million visitors descending on cities including Marrakech, Casablanca and coastal resorts including Essaouira and Agadir.
The update comes just a day after a British mother was charged with trafficking drugs into Germany after being caught allegedly smuggling cannabis from Thailand.
Cameron Bradford, 21, from Knebworth in Hertfordshire, was arrested at Munich Airport on April 22nd when she attempted to collect her luggage.
Authorities had become suspicious after she allegedly changed her flight at the last minute, having originally been due to fly to London Heathrow via Singapore.
Her family had filed a missing person report after raising concerns when she did not return home as expected, but then learned the next day she was in Germany.
Miss Bradford was arrested and held in custody - and has now been charged with attempted transit of cannabis and abetting the international trafficking of cannabis.
The mother, who has a young son, is set to make an appearance at a hearing in Munich District Court on August 6 as authorities continue to investigate.
A Foreign Office spokesman said today: 'We are supporting a British woman who is detained in Germany and are in contact with her family and the local authorities.'
Miss Bradford's arrest is one of a series of cases involving suspected young British female drug mules stopped by police at airports in countries around the world.
This week, another British woman was arrested in Mauritius accused of trying to smuggle cannabis inside her six-year-old son's suitcase.
This week, Natashia Artug, 35, of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, was detained alongside seven other people accused of carrying more than 161kg of the drug - worth £1.6million - in their luggage.
The boy's luggage alone is said to have had 24 packages of drugs wrapped in clear cellophane inside weighing 14kg.
Campaign group Justice Abroad claimed Ms Artug is 'vulnerable' and was coerced into travelling to Mauritius by people involved in the drug trade who threatened her and her family, adding that she did not know the bags contained cannabis.
Miss Artug's partner Florian Lisman, a 38-year-old Romanian, was also arrested and said to be carrying 32 drug packages, an iPhone and £260.
The other Britons detained were Patrick Lee Wilsdon, 22, Lily Watson, 20, Shannon Ellen Josie Holness 29, Laura Amy Kappen 28, and Shona Campbell, 32, who each had between 30 and 32 packages, according to local newspaper Le Mauricien.
They were all on the same British Airways flight from London Gatwick to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam airport last month. The suspects have all been charged with drug trafficking and remain in custody.
