FCDO Travel Aware drug smuggling campaign

FCDO have launched a new Travel Aware campaign focused on drug carrying following an increase in the number of consular incidents involving British Nationals overseas. More information on the background of the campaign can be found in the attached toolkit.

FCDO are keen to work with Members as Travel Aware partners on exploring ways you can share these key messages in your comms over the next couple of months to help tackle this issue and reduce the number of incidents overseas. As well as reducing consular cases, increasing awareness of the consequences of drug smuggling will protect the safety and security of British nationals abroad.

Background

The FCDO and NCA have noted a sharp increase in drug smuggling arrests among British Nationals (BNs), both abroad and in the UK.

The majority of arrests are linked to cannabis originating from Thailand. This follows the decriminalisation of cannabis in Thailand in 2022.

There is a serious risk of coercion by organised crime groups to BNs. Several have been offered money in exchange for carrying bags through customs.

The following assets include cannabis-specific messaging, but also general anti-drug smuggling warnings.

The campaign’s aims are:

• To increase awareness among British travellers of the varying penalties for drug smuggling abroad.
• To warn BNs of predation by organised crime groups (OCGs) seeking to exploit the naivety and vulnerability of travellers.

Travel Aware campaign aims:

• To reduce the number of preventable incidents involving BNs abroad that require consular assistance. This reduces time and financial resource spent by the British Government.
• To drive users to GOV.UK’s foreign Travel Advice service and other relevant GOV.UK pages