Schapelle Corby aka The Ganja Queen / Photo Jason South

In 2000 a Canadian citizen, Nguyen Thi Hiep, was executed in Vietnam by firing squad. He was caught with five kilos of heroin in 1996.

In 2005 a Singapore/Australian citizen, Nguyen Tuong Van, age 25, was hung in Singapore for drug smuggling. Kevin John Barlow and Brian Geoffrey Chambers were hung in 1986 by Malaysian officials for drug trafficking.

Michael McAuliffe was hung in Malaysia in 1993 after serving eight years in jail for heroin trafficking.

In many countries the possession of drugs imposes tough penalties including death and life imprisonment.

Asian countries that have death penalty for drug trafficking: Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Laos, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam. The only other country is the world that has this penalty for large qualities is the United States.

These facts are enough to scare you into rethinking about drugs and traveling. But what if you end up wrongly convicted of a crime you didn’t commit?

The Setup

In Thailand there are dealers that have agreements with the police to inform when foreigners purchase drugs. In exchange they are allowed to continue dealing with no trouble.

Backpackers Judith Payne and James Gilligan both from England faced six years in jail for possessing half a kilo of dope. They were released from the Bangkok Hilton on bail on February 24, 2000 and made a daring escape through the jungle to flee the Thailand drug rap and crossed the border into Malaysia.

Judith had just met James (who admitted to having the drugs) the day of the raid and was charged for them being in her room.

Even coming in contact with drugs or smoking a joint in another country and then crossing the border can also land you in trouble. If your skin, clothes or bags swab with any residue you will be tested and questioned.

If drugs are found in your system you will more than likely be kept from entering the country and sent back from where you came.

What You Can Do:

The most important tip, of course, is not to knowingly cross a border with drugs. But how to avoid having drugs planted on you or your bags? Here are 5 ways you can protect yourself:

1. Lock your bag against tampering.

2. Don’t leave bags unattended.

In a few recorded cases, travelers were unaware someone had placed an item into their baggage. There are even some examples of baggage handlers from one country placing the drug into the bags, then in your destination country they take it out – or they are suppose to.

3. Don’t leave your bags in the care of anyone, even people you think you know.

An Irish woman is in a jail in Africa for coming to the rescue of a fellow church member that claimed he was having visa problems. He had sewed cocaine into the lining of a bag that he bought her.

No matter how well you know someone, it’s not worth testing that trust by having them watch your bags.

4. Never carry anything belonging to someone else in or out of a country.

Traveller Michael Loic Blanc of France is serving life in Bali for smuggling 3.8 kilos of hashish through Ngurah Rai Airport, Denpasar. He was holding a bag for a friend he met in Bali. He was a adventurer, always working his way around the world to learn and explore. Unfortunately, he made a mistake.

Backpacker Daisy Angus of England was sentenced to ten years in Mumbai, India jail for possessing and attempting to smuggle ten kilos of cannabis out of the country. She was arrested in 2002, spent four years in prison waiting for sentencing, then the case was overturned and she was released April 8, 2007.

She was doing a favour for a friend in holding a bag that she didn’t know what it contained.

5. Ensure that the medications you are bringing into the country are not illegal by contacting the embassy of the country you are traveling to before departure.

Just because your prescription may be legal in your own country, may not mean it’s allowed into another. If you’re at all unsure, it’s best to check before you’re being questioned about your heart medication in a back room of a foreign airport.

Further Resources

If stories don’t frighten you into thinking twice, watch the movie, “Midnight Express”. It shows pretty accurately the kind of conditions imposed throughout Southeast Asia for drug offenses.

Books not for the faint-hearted that will leave an impression:

• The Last Executioner is the story of Chavoret Janiboon who was personally responsible for executing 55 prison inmates in the Bangkok Hilton.
• Hell In Barbados is the story of Terrance Donaldson’s struggle with a drug addiction and how he landed in Glendair Prison of the Caribbean.
• Welcome to Hell is the autobiography of Irishman Colin Martin’s struggle inside the Bangkok Hilton.
• The Damage Done and 4000 Days are both written by Australian Warren Fellows telling of his twelve years inside some of Thailand’s prisons.

Your trip is all about the freedom of the road and traveling to your heart’s content. Don’t get so relaxed that you fail to guard for dangers on the road.

Do you have any further tips for avoiding arrest for drug possession? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Kellea Croft

Kellea Croft is a freelance writer based in the Blue Mountains of Australia. She is a blogger for Cosmotourist and Matador Travel Community. Her articles can be found on inTravel magazine and Rockpool Publishing's "Dining Out with Kids."