British woman Laura Plummer granted early release from Egyptian prison

A British woman jailed in Egypt after 290 painkillers were discovered in her luggage has been granted early release from prison.

Laura Plummer, from Hull, was handed a three-year sentence on Boxing Day 2017 for taking the powerful Tramadol tablets into the country.

The 34-year-old claimed they were for her Egyptian partner Omar Caboo who suffers from severe back pain, and that she had no idea she was doing anything wrong.

Tramadol are very strong painkillers that are legal in the UK and available by prescription, but they are banned in Egypt.

Plummer has served 13 months of her jail term, having originally flown to the Red Sea resort of Hurghada for a two-week holiday in October 2017.

Her sister Jayne Sinclair told Sky News she is collecting her from a police station and they are heading straight to the airport.

Ms Sinclair said the paperwork was finalised yesterday and the Egyptian authorities “want her out of the country on the next available flight” and will escort the pair to the airport.

Shortly after the retail worker was jailed, her family told Sky News the conditions in the prison resembled a “living hell”.

Her mother Roberta Sinclair said her daughter was sharing a communal cell with up to 25 other women.

The cell was said to have no beds and a small hole in the floor as a toilet.

Plummer’s sister said she was “barely recognisable” after a couple of months in custody and that she feared for her sister’s survival.

Her family had earlier been told that she could face up to 25 years in jail, with one lawyer even mentioning the death penalty.

Plummer was pardoned by Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah el Sisi as part of Revolution Day celebrations, The Sun reported.

She told the paper: “My two-week 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.”

Her family maintained she 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.

Plummer’s lawyer told Sky News in 2017 that she couldn’t be regarded as a drug trafficker because she made no attempt to conceal what she was transporting.

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.”

(c) Sky News 2019: British woman Laura Plummer granted early release from Egyptian prison