Banging the door on drug pedlars

THEY are the forgotten ones. Forgotten that is except by close relatives back home and by the British diplomats whose duty it is to make occasional visits to ensure they are being treated properly within the law of whatever country in which they are being held.

Today there are 1164 British nationals languishing in foreign jails on drugs-related charges.

The lucky ones are in European prisons. Many others are being held in squalid conditions in third-world countries. A proportion might never see the outside world again. All of them feel more than sorry for themselves.

It is a staggering total, far surpassing the numbers one might have suspected.

It is a blaring advertisement to the world in general that Britain having developed its own drugs culture is now prepared to export it abroad, despite the dangers capture might entail.

In times gone by, UK nationals were proud that they had taken the British system of justice, government organisation, education, and culture to all corners of the globe.

Last night there were 69 countries ruing the fact that Britain's latter-day missionaries are dealing not in good works, but narcotics.

Each of these countries holds at least one UK national in prison on drugs-related charges. They are being held in such diverse countries as Australia, Brazil, China, Russia, Finland, India, Italy, Japan, Quatar, Spain, Turkey, the United States, and Vietnam. One Briton is even being held in Aruba in the Caribbean.

``The truth is it all comes down to money,'' said one Customs and Excise official last night. `When money is involved, people are prepared to take extraordinary risks, ignoring the price to be paid if caught. The price can be heavy.

``You can't feel sorry for them. After all drugs cost lives through overdoses and those who are involved in the trade, no matter at what level, should expect hefty sentences when captured,'' the official said.

Indeed, in some countries, notably Malaysia and Vietnam, drugs can cost dealers their lives. Unlike Thailand, those involved need not expect mercy and a reprieve merely because they are foreign.

Today has been set aside as the International Day against Drugs. It is as good a time as any to reflect that 16-year-old Marianne Platt, born in Aberdeen, and 19-year-old Melanie Jackman of Brighton, being held in Italian jails on suspicion of smuggling drugs worth #600,000 represent only the tip of the iceberg.

Indeed, it is fair to assume that had they not been young, pretty, and from good families their story might have warranted only cursory mentions in British newspapers. As it is they made headlines.

Their families are broken-hearted and can only assume their daughters were duped. However, indications were that they were approached in Brighton and recruited as ``drugs mules''.

Interpol, on the tail of a suspected Nigerian-led heroin trafficking network, followed the girls' movements at least from Istanbul to Rome where they were arrested. It appears that the two teenagers co-operated fully with the police thereafter in leading to further arrests.

Their claim that they did not know their baggage contained drugs is feasible, even in this modern streetwise day and age. A number of those Britons in prison abroad have undoubtedly landed themselves in severe trouble by trusting near strangers and carrying suitcases through customs on their behalf. Lorry drivers, too, have been arrested because unknown to them their vehicles were carrying contraband as they crossed borders.

In this case the girls may be extremely lucky. Had they been held in Instanbul, they might have been in deep trouble. Turkish prisons are recognised as being among the harshest in Europe. As it is Platt may be freed because of her age and, if convicted, Jackman may face only five years in prison.

Recruiting young gullible girls as ``mules'' while not unknown for drug smugglers is becoming dated. In a bid to confuse the authorities couriers come in all shapes and sizes nowadays. A Dutchman in his seventies was recently arrested. The vast majority of Brits in foreign jails on drugs charges are men.

The shape of the British involvement in drugs abroad can be guaged by the number being held in each country. The 270 Britons in jail in Spain and the 242 in France can mostly be linked with marijuana. Morocco is the main staging post for hashish on its way to the UK.

The drugs are landed in Spain and then mostly travel overland through France towards the channel port. The aim is to hide a needle in a haystack to get it past customs.

Three Scots were arrested in Spain only last month in connection with an alleged #7.8m drug run and can expect to spend two years in prison before coming to trial.

Thailand is a curious one. There 102 British nationals were in jail last night. Despite the heavy jail sentences on offer in harsh conditions many get involved in drugs to extend an enjoyable stay. Others are attracted because money is to be made in a continent where the drug scene, already heavy, is continuing to expand.

Among the Scots being held in Thailand are:

n James Callender from Greenock who has been told to spend the rest of his days in a Thai jail for attempting to smuggle 178g of pure heroin, contained in a condom and swallowed by him. It is an old trick that customs throughout the world are alert to.

Despite the sentence he hopes for repatriation to the UK to see out the remainder of his term of imprisonment.

n Brent Fraser from Stirling who is serving life for drugs trafficking. He also hopes to be returned the United Kingdom and a British jail.

n Sandra Gregory was sentenced to 25 years' jail for drugs offences.

n Justin Jackson, accused of running a factory producing ecstasy, faces 25 years to life.

It is a tough regime in a Thai jail. But last night they were reflecting it might be easier for some. They found it difficult to come to terms with the fact that 20-year-old Lisa Smith, British-born and with a dual Australian/UK passport, had been allowed bail at #40,000 shortly before she was due to appear before the courts on a drugs charge. Her father is a player in the big-money insurance business in the Far East.

Last night the Scots in Klong Prem Prison and Lar Yao women's jail in Bangkok were placing bets as to whether or not she would answer when called in court today. ``She would be a fool if she did,'' they were saying as the bets went in one direction before the book closed. In other parts of the world they had never heard of her.

Without doubt, British youth culture has taken off world-wide. Back in the UK Her Majesty's Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not prepared to intervene in sentences passed by foreign courts. Current Government thinking is that if you commit a crime abroad you pay the penalty.

Customs and Excise officers charged with bringing drug-runners to boot admitted: ``There is no doubt about it, we do our best, and we have no doubt the police are on top of the situation as far as they can be. Nevertheless, despite what we have done the problem escalates.

``At the end of the day the solution probably will not lie with politicians or policing, but perhaps with advisers and councillors. I don't know where we go should they fail.''