Foreign Office warn tourists of drug dangers
Foreign Office warn tourists of drug dangers
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Wednesday, 03, Feb 2010 01:28
By Sarah Garrod.
British travellers are being warned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) about the dangers of getting involved with drugs abroad.
The FCO minister Chris Bryant has revealed figures today which found 1,057 of the 2,582 British nationals detained overseas at the end of September 2009 were held on drugs charges.
In South America 99 per cent of British nationals detained were held for drug offences, while in Asia 50 per cent of British national detentions were for drugs.
Spain detained the highest actual number of British nationals for drugs offences (207), followed by the US (141) and Thailand (79). With regard to overall detentions, the USA detained the highest number of British nationals (669) followed by Spain (357) and Australia (271).
The FCO says it has concerns British nationals have unrealistic expectations about what he FCO can realistically do if they are arrested abroad.
The figures show a fifth of British nationals think a British embassy or high commission can get them out of prison if required and more than two thirds believe they can provide legal advice.
Mr Bryant said: "People often don't realise that they will be sentenced in that country, that sentencing can take many months, prison conditions can be very difficult to handle and that sentences can be very long.
"The message is clear - we can't get people out of jail in other countries, so if you don't want to waste your life away in a tough foreign jail, be sensible and keep clean."
The FCO said just over half of consular time is spent supporting British nationals arrested and detained overseas.
Pauline Crowe, chief executive of Prisoners Abroad, added: "Conditions can be very poor in overseas prisons - particularly in South America where a lot of people are arrested on drugs charges.
"Prisoners are often faced with severe overcrowding, poor quality food, water and medical care, and sometimes with violence. People may commit drugs offences for a wide variety of reasons, but we would encourage people to think of the consequences they will face if caught - the loss of liberty, the impact on their health, and the effect it will have on their family."