Consular cases involving British nationals arrested abroad for drug smuggling more than quadrupled between 2023 and 2025, rising from just over 80 to more than 340, according to figures the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office published on 14 September 2026. More than 160 cases had been recorded so far that year. More than 200 British nationals then detained abroad on smuggling offences were linked to cannabis originating from Thailand.

The FCDO said cannabis-related arrests in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos, drove the increase. It cited recruitment through social media promising free travel, easy money or “low-risk” opportunities, with recruits told luggage held clothes, gold or cash rather than drugs. The department said around 60% of those affected since 2024 were aged between 16 and 30, and warned that penalties can include long prison terms, life sentences, whipping and, in some countries, the death penalty.

Minister for Consular and Crisis Stephen Doughty said too many Britons were being lured into such schemes. Research the FCDO commissioned, carried out in June and July 2026, found a third of young travellers surveyed did not see carrying luggage packed by someone else as risky, and 30% would consider travelling with an item they were unsure was permitted.