ECONOMYNEXT – The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has provided an information pack for British Prisoners in Sri Lanka after the arrest of a UK national with one million sterling worth Kush (cannabis) at Colombo airport.
“We are impartial; we are not here to judge you,” an online rundown of the information pack said.
“We aim to make sure that you are treated properly and fairly in accordance with local regulations, and that you are treated no less favourably than other prisoners.
“We cannot get you out of prison, pay fines or stand bail or interfere with local judicial procedures to get you out of prison nor secure you an earlier trial date; we cannot investigate a crime.”
The information pack has detailed information on Sri Lanka’s legal system, prison conditions and access to phones and food.
“Sri Lankan prisons are extremely overcrowded,” it said. “This is in part owing to the lack of facilities.
“The accused spend a considerable time on remand before they are formally charged or before cases are heard. Conditions within prisons are difficult because of the overcrowding and the heat.”
British newspapers who suggested that the 21-year old former air hostess was a drug ‘mule’ said that prison she was housed in Negombo, was a ‘hellhole’.
Britain was one among countries in Europe who are trying to improve legal system for detainees.
On May 12, a young British woman who arrived in Colombo from Thailand on board a SriLankan Airlines flight was checked by Customs and taken into custody with 46 kilograms of Kush, a narcotic.
Sri Lanka Customs said the Kush had a street value of 460 million rupees in Sri Lanka which was about 1.15 million sterling pounds at current exchange rates.
Customs said it was the single largest seizure of Kush ever made in Sri Lanka. (Colombo/May21/2025)
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