- Drug smuggling arrests involving British nationals abroad more than quadrupled between 2023 and 2025
- Recruits are often told luggage destined for UK contains clothes, gold or cash – with suitcases actually containing up to 71kg of cannabis
- Increase driven by cannabis-related arrests, with the majority in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos
- FCDO Travel Aware campaign warns penalties abroad can include decades in prison, life sentences, whipping and, in some countries, the death penalty
Consular cases involving British nationals arrested abroad for drug smuggling offences more than quadrupled between 2023 and 2025, new figures show.
New cases rose from just over 80 in 2023 to more than 340 in 2025, with more than 160 cases so far in 2026.
The growing number of arrests is translating into a substantial detention burden overseas. More than 200 British nationals currently detained abroad on smuggling offences are held in connection to cannabis originating from Thailand, with around 60% of those affected since 2024 aged between 16 and 30.
The increase has been driven by cannabis-related arrests in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos.
As part of this year’s Travel Aware campaign, the UK government is warning travellers to think twice before carrying luggage, packages or goods on behalf of others after evidence from consular casework and law enforcement partners revealed a growing pattern of young British nationals being used by criminal networks.
Recruitment methods involve targeting young individuals, including via social media, with promises of free travel, easy money or ‘low-risk opportunities’. Recruits are frequently told luggage is filled with clothes, gold or even cash, only to discover after arrest the luggage contains drugs. While criminal gangs profit, those recruited face the consequences.
It comes as research commissioned by the FCDO suggested some young travellers may underestimate the risks. A third of those surveyed did not recognise travelling with luggage packed by someone else as risky, while 30% said they would consider travelling abroad with an item they were unsure was permitted.
This warning has been echoed by British nationals currently detained abroad. One British national, currently detained on cannabis offences, said: “At the end of the day, it’s your freedom you’re risking, and once it’s gone, it’s not easy to get back.”
Another said: “When I was told about the job, it made it seem [like] everything will be ok and nothing illegal will happen, and [I would get] to enjoy a free holiday. […] You start to think about many things and moments you will miss out on. My heart hurts.”
One British national detained abroad described feeling “a sense of mourning for the life I had.”
Penalties range from lengthy prison sentences to life imprisonment, whipping and, in some countries, the death penalty. In Malaysia, trafficking offences can result in life imprisonment and a minimum of 15 strokes of whipping, while sentences in Cambodia can be up to 30 years.
Bags are often re-checked during transit through third countries.
Meanwhile, legal proceedings can be lengthy and costly, with suspects spending months in detention before their cases reach court. Prison conditions can be harsh, access to healthcare limited and British nationals have previously died while in custody in Southeast Asia.
Minister for Consular and Crisis, Stephen Doughty MP, said:
Far too many British nationals are being lured into drug smuggling schemes by criminal gangs that promise free travel or a quick way to make cash.
The reality is very different, and detainees are warning about the dire living conditions they now face decades of in prison or, in some countries, the possibility of the death penalty.
Organised criminals are only interested in their own profit and do not care about the devastating consequences for the people they recruit.
Our advice is clear: never carry drugs or items for others. Remember no holiday, payment or opportunity is worth risking your freedom, your future or your life.
The UK government is working closely with partners across the UK and overseas to help tackle organised criminal networks involved in drug smuggling and to raise awareness of the risks facing British nationals.
For information on drug smuggling abroad and the dangers posed by organised crime groups to British nationals, travellers should visit the Travel Aware campaign website: Drug smuggling abroad - Travel Aware. Travellers should also check the latest Travel Advice before travelling overseas and remain alert to offers involving transporting luggage, packages or goods on behalf of other people. For the latest travel advice and safety information, visit: Foreign Travel Advice - GOV.UK
Notes to Editors
- Figures regarding the number and age of British nationals detained abroad in relation to drug smuggling are supplied by FCDO consular data.
- Total figures of drug smuggling detentions abroad are inclusive of British nationals detained abroad in relation to cannabis originating from Thailand.
- Figures have been calculated by calendar year.
- The global sum and scale of the figures ensure that individuals will not be identified.
- We will not disclose more discrete figures, which could personally identify or endanger British nationals detained, or those awaiting trial, abroad.
- Third-party research relating to the perceptions and behaviours of young British travellers was commissioned by the FCDO and carried out in June/July 2026.
- The FCDO is working with the NCA and Border Force to tackle organised crime networks involved in drug smuggling abroad.
- As part of the FCDO’s wider Travel Aware work, the anti-drug smuggling campaign aims to help British travellers recognise the signs of predation by organised crime groups and deter vulnerable or naive Brits from smuggling drugs abroad.
- Between June and July 2026, Border Force detected 7.7 tonnes of cannabis being carried by air passengers arriving in the UK, including 6.5 tonnes from Thailand.
- For further information on what Brits should do if they are arrested or detained abroad, please see: Arrested or in prison abroad - GOV.UK
- For more information, please see: Drug smuggling abroad - Travel Aware
- For further information regarding the country-specific penalties of smuggling drugs abroad: Foreign Travel Advice - GOV.UK.