A British mother from Croydon could spend up to 20 years in a Cambodian jail after she was allegedly found with 34kg of cannabis in her luggage. Tamara Martins, 31, was allegedly caught with 71 packs of the drug in her suitcase while attempting to return to Britain via Cambodia's Techo Airport.
Claims of a set-up
Martins claims she was the victim of a 'set up' and believed she was transporting electronics back to the UK after being approached by a man in a bar. She insists she only found out about the drugs when she was stopped at the airport by authorities.
Her brother Trey, who has stepped in to care for her 10-year-old daughter and provide legal support, told the Daily Mail that she was clearly distressed following the arrest. He said: "I didn't even know she was in Cambodia until she called me. All I heard was her crying. She said, 'I've been arrested. I've been arrested.'"
Family's plea
Trey said: "She was extremely erratic. She was upset, asking if I could do anything to help, and saying how sorry she was. She's never been arrested for anything to do with drugs and she's never been involved in that sort of stuff."
He maintains that she had no idea of the true nature of what she was allegedly carrying, adding that the people who allegedly tricked her were the real criminals. He said: "The same people who did this to her, who approached her – where are they? They're just going to escape and move on to the next person because nobody knows them, nobody knows where they're from and nobody knows how to contact them. It's free game for them. The person at the other end who has to deal with it is her."
Legal consequences
Trey acknowledged his sister may have been an "idiot" for accepting the offer, saying: "In hindsight, you can say she was an idiot for accepting something like that, but people make choices for whatever reasons. They can't always be good choices. It's a shame."
Cambodia bans the possession and trafficking of cannabis, and drug smuggling can bring lengthy prison sentences, with the UK Foreign Office warning that sentences for drug offences there can reach 30 years. Last February, two Brits were jailed after being convicted of trying to smuggle nearly 20kg of cannabis from Cambodia to Britain. Robert Brown, 41, received 14 years, while Hogg Jordan James, 28, received 10 years, according to a report of the Phnom Penh court's verdict. Both had been arrested at the airport in June the previous year.
An FCDO Spokesperson said: "We are supporting a British National detained in Cambodia and are in contact with the local authorities."
