British 'drug mules' are the 'flavour of the month' for criminal gangs and are being recruited on the promise of quick cash and the 'perfect package' luxury holiday, experts warned today.
Attracted by the white sand beaches and bustling nightlife, party-going Brits are flocking to countries such as Thailand and Indonesia in their droves - but some are never making it home.
That's because several Brits, mostly glamorous young women, are being lured into the murky world of drug smuggling which has left them facing lengthy sentences in hell-hole prisons or even the death penalty.
But in a case that has bucked the trend, a 79-year-old British pensioner was arrested in Chile last week after a Mexican gang allegedly promised him £3.7million to smuggle a suitcase of crystal meth from Cancun.
One leading drugs expert claimed smugglers are seeing Brits as the 'flavour of the month' because UK nationals, particularly young women, are easily incentivised and can slip back into the UK more easily with the goods on a British passport.
