Nigerian born British citizen faces death for heroin in Laos

20 year-old Nigerian born British citizen, Samantha Orobator. Photo Credit: Reprieve

A Nigerian born British citizen, Samantha Orobator, 20 year-old was arrested at Wattay Airport, Laos in August 2008 for allegedly having 1.5 pounds of heroin in her possession. She was arrested while trying to board a plane to Thailand.

She is expected to face the firing squad if convicted of drug trafficking. Her trial is scheduled to begin within days. The Laotian courts have issued death sentences in the past but have not put anyone to death in the past 20 years. This is no reassurance for this young lady especially the unimaginable stress she might be facing especially since she is pregnant and might have been raped by her Laotian prison guards. She is expected to give birth in September.

The British government said it only learned of her plight several months after her arrest.

US lawyer Clive Stafford Smith and Ronke Oseni, a friend of Samantha Orobator. Photo Credit: Reprieve

A representative of the British charity Reprieve, which assists people facing the death penalty, has arrived in the Laotian capital, Vientiane.

This is not the first time I have hear similar sad but yet dumb story. A young struggling, innocent, and naive young lady is approached and offered thousand of dollars with paid hotel and round trip tickets to go and pickup a package from a foreign country. Usually, the predator informs his victim that a relative of his is coming from an African country but does not have a vista to enter the victim’s country. Innocently, she flies to that country and picks up the package, not knowing the content and gets arrested at the airport. Words of wisdom – NEVER travel to a foreign country to pickup someone else’s pre-packed package.