Laura Plummer lands back in Britain after being released from prison in Egypt
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/29/laura-plummer/
A British woman has told of her “15 month trip to hell” after her holiday turned into a nightmare when she was jailed over painkillers.
Laura Plummer, 34, landed at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday afternoon and said she thought her “nightmare would never end” when she was held in al-Qanater women’s prison, south of Cairo in Egypt.
The shopworker from Hull was sentenced to three years in prison on Boxing Day 2017 for taking 290 Tramadol tablets into the country.
Breaking down in tears as she arrived back in the UK, Ms Plummer said: “Words cannot express how delighted I am to be home.
“At times I thought this nightmare would never end. What should have been a two-week holiday in the sun turned into a 15-month trip to Hell.
“I would like to thank everybody for supporting me throughout this, especially my family.”
Ms Plummer was arrested at Hurghada Airport on October 9 2017 when she flew into the Red Sea resort.
She claimed she was taking the tablets – which are legal in the UK but banned in Egypt – for her Egyptian partner Omar Caboo, who suffers severe back pain.
Her family previously said Ms Plummer had no idea that what she doing was illegal and was just “daft”.
Last September, she was refused permission to appeal against her conviction, but was granted early release on Monday after serving a third of her sentence.
Karl Turner, Ms Plummer’s local MP, said: “I am delighted for Laura and her family that this terrible ordeal is now coming to an end.
“I would like to thank the Foreign Office and particularly minister of state Alistair Burt MP for everything he and officials have done for Laura and her family since this saga begun.
“I very much hope that Laura can put this behind her and get on with her life now.”
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We are pleased Laura is now able to reunite with her family.
“Our staff provided extensive support to Laura and her family during her imprisonment, visiting her regularly to check her welfare, and maintaining close contact with both her family and lawyer.”
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