Interest in travelling to Egypt for holidays could be undermined after a shop worker from Hull was jailed for three years for drug smuggling, it has been claimed.
An Egyptian court found 33-year-old Laura Plummer guilty of the offence after she was found with 290 Tramadol tablets in her suitcase at Hurghada airport in October.
The powerful pain killer is legal in the UK when prescribed but illegal in Egypt. Ms Plummer claimed she was bringing the tablets into the country for her Egyptian husband who has chronic back problems.
The sentencing left family and supporters of Ms Plummer in shock and they say they will launch an appeal once the judge has published his reasoning, which could take up to 60 days.
Hull East MP Karl Turner told the BBC that although he respected the laws in Egypt the case could make other people from Britain think twice about travelling there.
He accepted Ms Plummer had been naive but was “decent, honest and hard-working”.
“[She was] going to visit her partner in Egypt, taking what she thought was a painkiller and no more than that,” he said. “It clearly is a banned substance and whilst we must respect the law of other countries there must be good sense and fair play as well.”
Dia al-Bassal, Ms Plummer’s lawyer, claimed there was a lack of criminal intent because she was unaware that the pills were banned in Egypt.
He said the court could also not prove she brought them into the country to sell them.
“It’s not logical that a British citizen would trade five boxes of Tramadol. The ticket she brought to come to Egypt cost more than the value of the Tramadol she was caught with,” he said.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: “We will continue to provide assistance to Laura and her family following the court ruling in Egypt, and our embassy is in regular contact with the Egyptian authorities.”