Several high-profile cases of British people arrested overseas have hit the news in the last week and Prisoners Abroad has seen a flurry of enquiries. While it is our policy not to comment specifically on individual cases, these arrests are indicative of some worrying wider trends that we have recently picked up on.  

It is important that we try to reflect these patterns and help to provide a wider understanding of what is going on, so since mid-May our Chief Executive, Christopher Stacey, has taken part in pre-recorded interviews for Good Morning Britain, Channel 5 News, an interview with Julia Hartley-Brewer for Talk TV (about 2:52 onwards), and spoke to Romilly Weeks for ITV News. 

We have seen a rapid rise in new drugs cases, which are up 57% on the previous year. We saw 243 new instances of British people arrested for drugs offences in the last financial year (April 2024 to March 2025), compared to 155 in the previous year, accounting for 49% of the total new cases. In the first 7 weeks of this financial year alone (since the beginning of April) we have already seen 74 new cases, of which 43 (58%) were drugs arrests.

We are seeing that women and young people are particularly impacted; women made up 62% of new drugs-related cases in the last year, while younger age groups (those under 34) made up 65% of drugs-related cases.

Some of this increase (although not all) could be accounted for by the legalisation of cannabis for personal use in Thailand and the subsequent impact in other countries, as people leave Thailand with drugs and are later arrested in countries of onwards travel where these drugs are illegal. This pattern has also been highlighted in a Guardian article published yesterday (19^th May).

The cases currently in the news seem to have some core similarities that reflect these trends; the individuals had travelled from Thailand and are now in prison in another foreign country, thousands of miles from home, in a place where they don’t speak the language, potentially facing a significant number of years in prison where conditions can be particularly poor.

Christopher says:

“When you see photos in the media of suitcases packed full of drugs, it can be easy to jump straight to having little sympathy. But for Prisoners Abroad as a charity, this isn’t about sympathy, or whether someone should or shouldn’t be in prison, it’s about people’s basic needs and their dignity, supporting people while they’re in prison. It is also important to remember that, at the point many stories hit the news, people are yet to be convicted of any crime. 

For the last 47 years, we have supported British people who have found themselves in prison abroad for all kinds of reasons. Importantly for us, we take a non-judgmental approach. We believe everyone deserves to have their human rights and dignity upheld and that no one should be subject to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment. We support British citizens whether convicted or unconvicted, guilty or innocent, regardless of the offence, and solely on the basis of need.

An arrest, particularly overseas, affects many more than just the person in prison; there is a huge impact on family who will feel incredibly isolated and experience a wide range of emotions towards their relative in prison. Judgemental comments about their relative can have a real and lasting impact on their mental health, ability to maintain relationships, and to ask for help and support.

The increase in cases also has implications for our work as a charity – in the last year alone we’ve seen the total number of new cases accelerating to 491 last year, compared to 359 the previous year and 295 the year before. This means that there is a significant strain on our resources, both in the staff time that we need to support people on an individual level, and in the costs of providing the much-needed practical support that we know people need. 

Irrespective of the reason for arrest, no person in prison should suffer conditions threatening their life, dignity or health. We want to reduce isolation, give people hope, and above all else keep people alive by supporting their physical and mental wellbeing. And that’s why we’ll continue in our mission to protect, support and advocate for the health, welfare and human rights of British citizens in prison abroad and their families.”

We work closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to deliver our overseas work and support them in promoting their Travel Aware campaign. Prisoners Abroad would urge anyone planning a trip abroad anywhere in the world to research local laws and customs thoroughly before travel. Conditions can vary enormously from prison to prison and country to country, and drugs charges in particular can be severe in many countries.

If you need to contact us about the detention or imprisonment of a relative or friend, or about your own situation, please get in touch here.

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