Egypt releases British woman jailed for having painkillers in her luggage

A British woman jailed in Egypt after painkillers were discovered in her luggage has been released.

Laura Plummer, 34, from Hull, was sentenced to three years in prison on Boxing Day 2017 for taking 290 Tramadol tablets into the country.

The shop worker applied for and was granted early release after serving a third of her sentence.

Ms Plummer told The Sun: "My twoweek holiday in the sun turned into a nightmare."

She added: "I'm so happy to be going home. I mean, who goes on holiday for two weeks and then stays 14 months?

"I just wish I wasn't being deported. But I promise you - I'll never set foot in an airport again."

Ms Plummer was arrested at the airport on October 9 2017 when she flew into the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

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 from severe back pain, and had no idea what she was doing was wrong.

The Plummer family has previously said Ms Plummer had no idea that what she doing was illegal and was just 'daft'.

They said she did not try to hide the medicine, which she had been given by a friend, and she thought it was a joke when she was pulled over by officials after arriving for a holiday with her partner.

Mrs Sinclair said her daughter was being held in terrible conditions in a communal cell with no beds, sharing with up to 25 other women.

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Our staff continue to do all they can to support Laura and her family, and our Embassy remains in regular contact with the Egyptian authorities."

Here is a timeline of how the case unfolded:

- October 9, 2017: Ms Plummer flies to Hurghada in Egypt for a two-week holiday where she will see her husband Omar Caboo. She is found to have 290 Tramadol painkillers in her luggage.

- November 2017: She is held in prison but Mr Caboo provides evidence to prove he has a bad back, including medical certificates and scans.

- December 25, 2017: Ms Plummer is due in court but the case is adjourned.

- December 26, 2017: She is sentenced to three years in prison, with her family saying the judge only allowed translation from the court translator, leading to a situation where she may have given the wrong answers to some questions, giving the appearance she was confessing.

- January 27, 2019: It is reported that Ms Plummer has been freed after being given a presidential pardon.