Anish Vij
A family from Merseyside have been left in a 'nightmare' situation after a family member was arrested during a stag do in Vietnam.
James Ryan, from Kirkby, UK, was arrested at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Vietnam in the middle of May as worried family members claimed they had had limited contact with him.
They say they are unaware of James' whereabouts.
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James' older brother Carl, 39, told the ECHO: "My mum is in bits and my dad is so worried.
"We're so stressed about what is going to happen and are just extremely concerned for his wellbeing and safety."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: "We are in contact with the local authorities following the arrest of a British national in Vietnam."
James went travelling in Vietnam for two weeks before he was arrested at the airport.
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His family says they were told that James was arrested for the alleged theft of a bottle of aftershave.
However, Carl insists that a theft would be out of character and that the last time they heard from James, he was updating the family with voice notes, telling them that he was being kept in an immigration office near the airport - and would only be there for three days.
A few days has turned into a few weeks and the family has opted to file a missing persons report on 20 May.
They said they were notified by the British embassy that James was detained pending an investigation.
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Carl added: "I had planned to go with my dad to find him, but after hearing he was safe we decided to hold off for a few days as we didn't have a clue where he was.
"But it was such a slow process, so last Thursday I had had enough and said we need to go because the embassy just kept giving us the same spiel.
"It's his birthday on July 2 - we don't even know where he will turn 30.
"The embassy has been terrible but we have to keep trying.
"At the moment we are just stuck in limbo waiting for information on how we can get him home."
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After Carl and his father Eddie visited a British consulate, they were allegedly told they could not access James' location due to data protection.
The older brother added: "They all said nothing, but the language barrier was very difficult.
"I emailed about 10 lawyers out there and asked if they could help by coming around with us to translate but I got no responses.
"We spoke again with the embassy and asked when they were going to go and see him.
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"They said the process does take about two or three weeks.
"We got back from Vietnam yesterday afternoon and I finally had contact - they said they were going to see him on June 18.
"We now just have to wait for them to go and see him. After that we will have to go back.
"We just don't know what will happen.
"We heard he could be released on bail, but they would take his passport away from him. He then could be waiting for sentence for 12 months."
LADbible Group has contacted the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the British Embassy for additional comment.
To donate to the Ryan family fundraiser to help them get back to Vietnam, click here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-us-to-free-jimbo-from-vietnam