British woman locked up in Egypt for drug trafficking over painkillers for husband's bad back

A British woman has been detained in Egypt after flying into the country with painkillers for her husband’s sore back.

Laura Plummer was reportedly arrested when she was found carrying nearly 300 Tramadol tablets as well as Naproxen in her suitcase.

According to The Sun, the 33-year-old from Hull signed a 38-page statement in Arabic which she thought would mean she could leave the airport.

Instead, she has been held in a 15ft by 15ft cell with 25 other women for nearly a month, the newspaper reported.

Her brother James Plummer, 31, said his sister had been arrested for what he thought Egyptian authorities call “drug trafficking”, but claimed she had only brought a small amount of medication for her Egyptian husband who she visits two to four times a year.

According to The Sun, Laura took 29 strips of Tramadol, each containing ten tablets, plus some Naproxen, for her husband who suffers from back pain after being in an accident.

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Her brother said the family had been told she could face up to 25 years in jail and claimed one lawyer had even mentioned the death penalty.

Mr Plummer told the Press Association the situation had “blown out of proportion” and his sister thought she was doing a “good deed” by bringing the medication to her husband.

He said his mother and sisters had travelled to Egypt to visit Laura following her arrest on October 9, adding: “They say she’s unrecognisable. When they seen her, she’s like a zombie, they said.”

“I don’t think she’s tough enough to survive it. She has a phobia of using anybody else’s toilet, so let alone sharing a toilet and a floor with everybody else. That will be awful for her, it’ll be traumatising.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are supporting a British woman and her family following her detention in Egypt.”