A young British couple are facing up to 30 years in a Turkish prison after being accused of smuggling two suitcases packed with cannabis to the UK. Holly Cooper and her boyfriend Taylor Johnson, both 20, were reportedly arrested minutes after landing in Istanbul on a flight from Thailand.
Arrest and Detainment
Officers took them aside for questioning while they were trying to catch their connecting flight to London. They were then thrown into an overcrowded holding cell where Turkish thugs beat up Mr Johnson, his family claimed. After being formally arrested following a court hearing, they were transferred to a jail where they may have to wait an entire year for their trial.
Legal Representation and Support
The couple does not have their own lawyers and will be represented by public defenders. Desperate to help, friends have launched a GoFundMe to raise money while the couple languishes in foreign cells. If convicted, Ms Cooper and Mr Johnson face a minimum sentence of 10 years, but it could be as long as 30 years.
Family friends claim the couple were groomed by criminals in Gran Canaria to act as drug mules and smuggle two suitcases of cannabis from Thailand to the UK. They are 'good kids', a family friend said. It is claimed that Mr Johnson was beaten up while in the overcrowded holding cell when the couple were first arrested.
Family and Friends React
A family friend said that the pair were 'good kids'. He told The Sun: 'OK, they've done something stupid this time, but everyone makes mistakes. They've been recruited and groomed by bigger criminals and exploited by them. They are alone in a Turkish prison. It's shocking and apparently Taylor has been beaten up. The families are in bits.'
Ms Cooper posted pictures of their trip to Gran Canaria, where criminals allegedly groomed them. Ms Cooper, of Coseley, and Taylor, of Wednesbury, flew to Thailand last month and were coming home via their flight to Istanbul when they were stopped by police on April 26.
Fundraising Efforts
The fundraiser has had £455 donated in five days. Gracie, a family friend who set up the crowdfund, admitted that 'to some it may be cheeky' to raise money for the pair but said that 'anyone that knows Taylor knows he would help you as much as he can'. Ms Cooper's aunt Maxine Cooper confirmed her arrest to The Sun.
The Foreign Office said it was providing support to two Britons held in Turkey and their families.
