Woman Possibly Faces the Death Penalty Over Smuggled Pills

A woman from England has been detained in Egypt after flying with painkillers for her husband’s back.

The Daily Telegraph reports Laura Plummer was arrested after security found her to be carrying tramadol in her suitcase.

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After signing 38-page statement in Arabic she assumed would allow her to leave the airport, the 33-year-old has been held in a 15 feet by 15 feet cell with 25 other women for a month. Plummer’s brother told the paper that her family has been told she could face up to 25 years in jail, with one lawyer telling them she might even face the death penalty.

Plummer’s brother goes on to share that his sister was arrested for what he believes authorities in Egypt are calling “drug trafficking.” However, she had only allegedly brought a small amount of medication — specifically, 29 strips of tramadol, each containing 10 tablets with some Naproxen — with her for her Egyptian husband, whom she visits two to four times a year and suffers from back pain due to an accident.

Her sister says Plummer will be “completely out of her comfort zone” in jail and initially thought she was doing a “good deed” by bringing the medication to her husband.

The family has since visited her in jail following the arrest, saying she is “unrecognizable” and when she saw her, she was like, “a zombie” with her hair falling out due to stress.

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“I don’t think she’s tough enough to survive it,” Plummer’s brother said. “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 traumatizing.”

Her brother went on to reveal that the family is feeling “helpless” and that she is “not a tough person at all.”

As of now, a Foreign Office has said they are investigating the matter and looking into ensuring Plummer’s wellbeing.

“We are supporting a British woman and her family following her detention in Egypt.”

Tramadol is legal in Britain although it must be used with a prescription due to its high potency. It is illegal in Egypt and known to be used as a heroin substitute.