BRITISH NATIONALS DETAINED OVERSEAS ON DRUG CHARGES QUADRUPLE

British nationals detained overseas on suspicion of drug trafficking have more than quadrupled in three years, according to Foreign Office figures. Consular officials logged 80 such cases in 2023, rising to more than 340 in 2025, including at least 160 so far this year. It said penalties in some countries include life imprisonment and the death penalty. More than 200 UK citizens are currently held abroad over allegations of smuggling cannabis that originated in Thailand, it said. Around 60% of those detained since 2024 are reported to be aged 16 to 30.

The Foreign Office attributed the increase largely to cannabis-related detentions across south-east Asia, naming Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos as the countries most affected. It said criminal networks often recruit young British nationals through social media, offering free travel, easy money or low-risk opportunities. Recruits are frequently told luggage bound for the UK contains clothes, gold or cash, when suitcases have been found to hold as much as 71kg of cannabis. Research commissioned by the department found that a third of young travellers surveyed did not consider luggage packed by someone else potentially risky, and 30% said they would travel with an item despite being unsure it was permitted.

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said too many British nationals are being lured into drug smuggling schemes by criminal gangs promising free travel or quick cash. He said detainees have described harsh prison conditions and, in some countries, the risk of the death penalty. Doughty said organised criminals are concerned only with their own profit and disregard the consequences for those they recruit. The department's advice to travellers is never to carry drugs or items belonging to others.