British mother facing 20 years in hellhole Cambodia jail insists she was 'set up' as family plead for help
A British mother is facing decades behind bars in a Cambodia jail after she was reportedly found attempting to leave the country with cannabis in her luggage.
Tamara Martins, from Croydon has claimed she was approached by a man in a bar who asked her to transport a suitcase full of electronics back to the UK for a fee, according to reports.
Her family are now desperately trying to get her home and are fundraising for legal aid, with the 31-year-old stuck 'thousands of miles away' from her daughter.
"Everything has happened incredibly quickly," her sibling Trey wrote on GoFundMe. "As a family, we are doing everything we possibly can from here, contacting the British authorities, trying to arrange welfare support and desperately trying to secure proper legal representation for her in Cambodia. The reality is that we cannot do this alone.
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"Legal representation and the costs involved in supporting Tamara from another country are more than our family can manage by ourselves.
"We are raising money so that she can have a lawyer there to protect her rights, understand exactly what is happening to her and make sure she is not facing this situation completely alone."
Cambodia enforces very strict drug laws under the Law on the Control of Drugs. They punish possession, use, and trafficking with heavy fines, long prison sentences, or forced rehabilitation.
Large-scale drug trafficking and manufacturing offences can result in decades in prison or life sentences.
According to the Daily Mail, Tamara claims that she only found out about the drugs when she was stopped at Techo Airport, where authorities uncovered the packages of marijuana weighing 34kg.
Her brother Trey, 29, who is now caring for Tamara's ten-year-old daughter told the paper: "I didn't even know she was in Cambodia until she called me. All I heard was her crying.
"She said, "I've been arrested. I've been arrested.'
"She's never been arrested for anything to do with drugs and she's never been involved in that sort of stuff."
He has claimed that Tamara has been transferred to a women's prison where her phone was confiscated and the conditions are poor.
She is reportedly being held in a cell with some of them forced to sleep on the hard floor due to a lack of available beds.
In a letter reportedly sent to Trey by Tamara, she penned: "It's hell in here. I haven't been able to sleep, eat or anything.
"I have to try and not think so much about life at home otherwise I'll die from a broken heart... It's really difficult and hard to to see the light at the end of the tunnel."
The description on the fundraiser continued: "While Tamara is detained, her daughter is being cared for by family here in the UK.
"She is safe, loved and being looked after, but she is still a child whose mum is suddenly thousands of miles away from her.
"We are trying to give her as much stability and normality as possible while, behind the scenes, we fight to help her mum.
It continued: "Tamara is not just somebody whose name is attached to a legal case. She is my sister. She is a daughter. And she is a mum with a little girl waiting for her.
"Every donation will go towards helping us obtain legal representation for Tamara and meeting the necessary costs involved in supporting her through this situation.
"Our hope is simply to make sure she has proper help, that she is treated fairly, and ultimately that we can get her back home to her family."
In texts to Trey, Tamara wrote: "They said 10-20 years bro. Unless they get the guy.
"If they find him, my sentence gets shorter. But it's still years. Help me please."
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting a British National detained in Cambodia and are in contact with the local authorities."
Brits detained on drugs offences abroad
There are hundreds of Brits currently detained on suspicion of drugs offences overseas, according to recent figures.
The UK Government said many young people are being recruited with the promise of easy money and 'free holidays'.
Stats show that drug smuggling arrests involving British nationals abroad more than quadrupled between 2023 and 2025.
New cases rose from just over 80 in 2023 to more than 340 in 2025, with more than 160 cases so far in 2026.
More than 200 British nationals currently detained abroad on smuggling offences are held in connection to cannabis originating from Thailand, with around 60 percent of those affected since 2024 aged between 16 and 30.
The increase has been driven by cannabis-related arrests in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos, the Foreign Office said.
The growing number of arrests is translating into a substantial detention burden overseas. More than 200 British nationals currently detained abroad on smuggling offences are held in connection to cannabis originating from Thailand, with around 60% of those affected since 2024 aged between 16 and 30.
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said: "Far too many British nationals are being lured into drug smuggling schemes by criminal gangs that promise free travel or a quick way to make cash.
"The reality is very different, and detainees are warning about the dire living conditions they now face decades of in prison or, in some countries, the possibility of the death penalty.
"Organised criminals are only interested in their own profit and do not care about the devastating consequences for the people they recruit.
"Our advice is clear: never carry drugs or items for others. Remember no holiday, payment or opportunity is worth risking your freedom, your future or your life."
Topics: UK News, World News, Drugs, Travel
James Holt