British nationals should take extra care not to get involved with drugs overseas Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Chris Bryant warns, as new detention figures reveal the extent of the problem across the globe. New data released by the FCO reveals that 1057 of the 2,582 British nationals detained overseas at the end of September 2009 were held on drugs charges.

• In South America, 99% of the British nationals detained by local authorities were held for drug crimes, with Brazil and Peru showing the highest figures in this continent
• In Asia, 50% of British national detentions were for drugs with the highest figures occurring in Thailand and Japan
• Spain detained the highest actual number of British nationals for drugs offences (207), followed by USA (141) and Thailand (79)
• With regard to overall detentions, the USA detained the highest number of British nationals (669) followed by Spain (357) and Australia (271)

Research shows that British nationals often have unrealistic expectations of what the FCO can do for them if they are arrested overseas. New figures reveal that a fifth of British nationals think a British embassy or high commission can get them out of prison if required and more than two thirds believe they can provide legal advice.

Just over half of consular time is spent supporting British nationals arrested and detained overseas.

Chris Bryant said: “Britons should know the risks of taking drugs abroad – and they should also be extremely wary of being sucked into the drugs trade. New figures show that over 1,000 Brits are in prisons overseas for drugs. People often don’t realise that they will be sentenced in that country, that sentencing can take many months, prison conditions can be very difficult to handle and that sentences can be very long.  The message is clear - we can't get people out of jail in other countries, so if you don't want to waste your life away in a tough foreign jail, be sensible and keep clean."

To find out more about what the FCO can and can’t do to help you if you are detained overseas, see their page on Arrest and detention.