UK police investigate how British woman jailed in Egypt obtained painkillers
Officers launch an appeal for information after Laura Plummer is jailed in Egypt for bringing Tramadol tablets into the country.
Wednesday 10 January 2018 16:56, UK
British police are investigating how a woman came to possess strong prescription painkillers after she was jailed for three years in Egypt.
Laura Plummer was arrested and jailed after taking around 300 Tramadol tablets, which are banned in Egypt but legal in the UK, into the country.
The 33-year-old shop worker, who said she got the tablets from a friend, told an Egyptian court she had brought the painkillers for her boyfriend Omar Caboo, who suffers from severe back pain.
She claimed she did not know what she was doing was against the law.
Authorities in the UK have since launched their own investigation into how Plummer obtained the prescription medication, which was found in her suitcase.
"Following the arrest and subsequent conviction of Laura Plummer, we are looking into the circumstances of how the prescription drugs came to be in her possession and if any further individual has committed any offences," said detective inspector Jon Cross.
"This investigation is still ongoing. If you have information you believe could assist us in this inquiry, please call 101."
Plummer, from Hull, was arrested on 9 October at Hurghada International Airport.
Her initial trial hearing on Christmas Day had to be adjourned as she reportedly broke down in court.
The woman's family previously described her as "daft" and insisted she had no idea what she was doing was illegal.
Plummer's sister, Rachel, said their mother Roberta Synclair, who travelled to Egypt for the hearings, was "devastated" following the sentencing.
The family's local MP, Karl Turner, also described the sentence as "devastating" following the verdict on Boxing Day but said it could have been much worse.
He told Sky News: "She's been very anxious, she's suffered sleep deprivation, she's not been well in terms of her mental health and her physical health."
The Hull East MP also urged Egyptian authorities to "think very hard about what this means to people in the UK who are considering travelling (there)".
It is believed Plummer will appeal the sentence as supporters continue to argue the painkillers were not hidden away in her suitcase.