Fury as drug smuggler freed from Thai jail is caught with heroin

Apr 20 2008 By Gordon Currie

Exclusive Campaigners' Fury As Prisoner They Saved From 100-Year Hell Is Caught With Heroin

A PRISONER freed from a 100-year jail sentence for drug trafficking in Thailand after a massive campaign has been caught with heroin.

Brent Stirling's claims that he was an innocent dupe who never touched drugs seem hollow after he was caught red-handed in his home town of Perth.

Friends who battled to free him said they felt "betrayed".

One former friend said: "Brent has been given a second chance at life and he's gone and p***ed it up against the wall.

"Dozens of people fought on his behalf but he has betrayed our faith in him.

"He got a ticket out of a life in a Thai hell-hole and seems intent on wrecking it."

Stirling, 38, was sentenced to life at the tough Songlha Remand Prison - known as The Gates of Hell - after being caught with a huge stash of heroin and cocaine in 1994.

He was freed after a seven-year campaign which went to the House of Lords.

But now he has been fined s200 after being caught with heroin while trying to shoplift from his local Asda.

The friend said: "He has managed to avoid any more jail time so far but how long will that last?"

Stirling's solicitor Billy Somerville did not mention his client's background as an international drugs courier.

Instead, he described Stirling as a tiler who had experienced difficulty with heroin but told Perth Sheriff Court the offence was a "one-off".

The former Perth Academy pupil was working as a diver in Thailand when he was arrested with 400 small packages containing cocaine and heroin.

Stirling claimed he had been set up by a corrupt Swiss businessman who collected a huge cash bounty from Thai officials after his arrest.

He was jailed for life - 100 years under Thai law - and the British Embassy became involved when his parents campaigned for his release.

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mail from behind bars he said: "The conditions here make the movie Midnight Express look tame. The brutality is sickening and folk are beaten to a pulp for the slightest thing.

"It is terrifying. I would rather be hanged than stay here for ever. I had a well-paid job as a deep sea diver so why did I need to deal in drugs?

"Anyone who knows me will realise the charges are ridiculous."

Stirling had his sentence cut to 40 years when the Thai king celebrated his golden jubilee and was later granted a further reduction in sentence.

Scottish Executive Justice Minister Jim Wallace then rubber-stamped Stirling's repatriation back to Scotland.

Stirling's parents - Sheila and Fraser - campaigned for his early release and he was freed shortly after being sent back to the UK.

But after being arrested with heroin again, his family were tight-lipped. Stirling refused to comment outside court.

'He has p***ed a second chance at life up against the wall' FORMER FRIEND

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