Patricia Cahill (drug smuggler)
Patricia Cahill was arrested for attempting to smuggle 32kg of heroin from Thailand to Amsterdam.
Due to her age, Cahill could not be executed, as would have been normal under Thai law. Instead she was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. The case caused high profile media coverage. Cahill served only a little over 3 years and was released after pressure from the British authorities.
Arrest
Cahill and her friend Karen Smith went to Thailand for a holiday, after a British man offered to pay their way. Her parents were not aware that she had left the country, and believed her to be in Scotland. At Bangkok International Airport their baggage was searched, and the drugs discovered. The quantity of heroin seized was at the time, the largest in any haul ever. Throughout their trial, they maintained that the drugs had been planted on them, and that they had no knowledge that they were carrying anything illicit. However, in a later interview from prison, Cahill confessed that she knew she was carrying something but she had no idea what exactly it was. [1].
Subsequent Release
Despite accepting the verdict and sentence of the Thai courts, the government of Britain went to unusual measures to secure the release of Patricia Cahill, who, at the time of her offence was a minor.
The British embassy in Bangkok submitted a petition for a pardon from the King of Thailand to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs[2]. The embassy supported the petition on the grounds of Miss Cahill's youth and immaturity at the time the offence was committed.
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