A British mother from Croydon is facing the possibility of up to 20 years behind bars in Cambodia after authorities allegedly discovered 34.5kg of cannabis inside luggage she was carrying.

Tamara Martins, 31, was arrested at Techo International Airport on September 3 after Cambodian customs officers reportedly found 71 packages of suspected cannabis inside her suitcase as she attempted to leave the country.

However, Martins maintains that she had no knowledge of the drugs and claims she was “set up” after agreeing to transport the suitcase back to the UK for someone else.

According to her account, she was approached by a man while at a bar in Cambodia who offered to pay her to take a suitcase containing what she believed to be electronic equipment back to Britain. Martins says she only became aware of its actual contents when airport officials searched the luggage.

Cambodian investigators have not publicly corroborated Martins’ version of events, and no second arrest connected to the man she described has been announced. Martins has not been convicted, with her case reportedly still proceeding through the Cambodian legal system.

Her younger brother, Trey Martins, said he was unaware his sister was even in Cambodia until she called him following her arrest.

“All I heard was her crying. She said, ‘I’ve been arrested. I’ve been arrested,’” he recalled, adding that his sister had never previously been involved in drug-related offences.

Martins was initially reportedly held at a tourist detention centre before being transferred to Phnom Penh’s Correctional Centre 2, a women’s prison where communication with her family has become more difficult.

In a letter to her brother, Martins described the conditions as “hell” and said she had struggled to sleep and eat. Reports claim she is being held alongside more than 60 other women and has had difficulty accessing basic necessities. These accounts of the conditions have primarily come from Martins and her family and have not all been independently verified by Cambodian prison authorities.

Meanwhile, her 10-year-old daughter remains in the UK and is currently being cared for by Trey while the family attempts to secure legal support for Martins.

Her arrest comes amid a significant rise in British nationals being detained abroad over alleged drug-smuggling offences.

One comment read:

“Electronics from Cambodia to the UK is actually more outrageous than bringing shoes from Jamaica.”

The remark appears to reference the case involving Teraiya Stapleton, a British woman who travelled to Jamaica before being arrested after drugs were allegedly discovered concealed inside footwear she was carrying. 

Another person commented:

“When are people going to learn..... NEVER CARRY A BAG FOR ANYONE!!!”

It was a common sentiment amongst Residents, with much of the conversation focusing on the risks of travelling internationally with luggage or items packed by somebody else regardless of what you have been told is inside.

The reaction comes as the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office continues to warn British travellers about being recruited by criminal networks to transport drugs internationally, including cases where people claim they were misled about what they were carrying.

Earlier this month, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office revealed that new consular cases involving British nationals arrested for drug smuggling abroad had risen from just over 80 in 2023 to more than 340 in 2025, with more than 160 new cases already recorded in 2026.

Officials say much of the increase has been driven by cannabis-related arrests across Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Laos. The FCDO has also warned of criminal networks recruiting travellers with promises of money or free trips, sometimes telling them they are transporting ordinary items such as clothes, cash or gold when their luggage actually contains drugs.

The Foreign Office has confirmed it is supporting a British national detained in Cambodia and remains in contact with local authorities.

Martins remains in custody as her case continues.

‍