British woman Samantha Orobator, who was jailed for trafficking heroin in Laos and whose family live in Ireland, has been handed over to the UK authorities.
Orobator (20), who became pregnant in a Vientiane prison while awaiting trial, boarded a plane bound for London earlier.
She became eligible for transfer to Britain following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Laos and Britain last week.
Orobator, from south London, was serving a life sentence after admitting drug smuggling and would have faced the death penalty had she not been pregnant.
Orobator’s mother Jane is a fulltime student at Trinity College Dublin and lives with three of her other children, who are aged between 9 and 14, in Castleknock, Dublin. “I just want her to come back to the UK, that is my first desire. One step at a time, I just want her to have her baby here," she said today.
In a statement earlier, Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said Samantha Orobator boarded a plane to London’s Heathrow from the capital Vientiane this afternoon.
Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant said: “This is excellent news. Of course, we do not condone any crimes involving illegal drugs. We work around the world to combat the use of illegal drugs.
“I spend much of my time warning British tourists of the dangers of using drugs in countries such as Laos, which have heavy penalties for these crimes. Samantha will serve her term in a British penal establishment.
“But I saw for myself Samantha’s advanced state of pregnancy when I visited her in prison last week. The transfer means that Samantha will give birth in the UK, close to her relatives and under UK medical care. This is clearly the best outcome for all - not least her unborn child.”
The Lao government agreed last week she could return to the UK to serve the rest of her prison sentence. This came in time for the birth of her child which is due next month.
Laos foreign ministry spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing said today Orobator’s return was a humanitarian gesture which took her pregnancy into account.