British woman arrested for drug trafficking in Egypt

Laura Plummer was reportedly arrested after flying into Cairo with hundreds of painkiller pills

A British woman has been arrested in Egypt and accused of drug trafficking.

Laura Plummer, from Hull, was arrested after flying into Cairo with nearly 300 tramadol tablets and some Naproxen in her suitcase, the Sun reported.

Her family told the paper she brought the painkillers for her Egyptian husband, who she visits two to four times a year and who has a bad back.

The Foreign Office said it was supporting a British woman and her family after her detention in Egypt.

'Good deed'

Family members told the Sun that Miss Plummer, 33, signed a 38-page statement in Arabic thinking it would lead to her release, but instead she has been kept in a cell with 25 other women for nearly a month.

They also say they have been told she could face up to 25 years in prison, or even the death penalty.

Miss Plummer's brother, James, 31, told the Press Association his sister thought she was doing a "good deed" by bringing the medication over to her husband.

Mr Plummer said his mother and sisters had travelled to Egypt to visit Miss Plummer following her arrest on 9 October, adding: "They say she's unrecognisable. When they seen her, she's like a zombie, they said."

Mr Plummer said the family feel "helpless" due to being in a different country.

He said his sister's hair was starting to fall out due to stress. "I don't think she's tough enough to survive it," he added.

"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."