Welcome Home Simon

It’s been nearly three years since Simon Burke, one of our Banged Up Abroad contributors, was arrested and locked up in a Peruvian prison for a crime he DID NOT commit… Yesterday, finally, he landed safe and sound at Birmingham airport – and a few of us were there to capture the moment.

If you haven’t seen the episode of Banged Up Abroad that features Simon – here is a brief summary of his ordeal. In January 2007, Simon went on holiday with his friend Sarah Jackson to Peru. Unaware that Sarah was in Peru to smuggle cocaine to the UK in order to pay off her debts. Sarah was using Simon as cover for her drug running after a dealer had told her it would look less suspicious if she had a ‘boyfriend’ with her. After they visited Machu Picchu they then flew onto the Peruvian capital of Lima where Sarah was busted by customs at Jorge Chavez International Airport. 10 kilos of cocaine were found in her suitcase. An unsuspecting Simon was suddenly implicated and drawn into a nightmare that was to last over two years (watch a clip of the episode here).

Despite Simon knowing nothing about the drugs, he was arrested and sent to jail. After nine months, Sarah eventually persuaded Peruvian officials that Simon wasn’t involved in the smuggling attempt. He was released from prison on November 1st 2007 but he remained under house arrest on ‘conditional freedom’ until last Sunday.

An excited and relieved crowd of family, friends and reporters were there to meet Simon on Sunday afternoon. He walked out of the arrivals gate to applause, cheers and tears. We stole Simon away from his parents and friends for a quick interview, where he managed to sum up his thoughts and feelings whilst clasping a well deserved can of Stella.

The one good thing he can take with him from his experience is the support of his friends, family and the online facebook group as they were what kept him going throughout his ordeal. Moving forwards, Simon hopes that he can educate others, so that they won’t make the same mistakes he did. He wants people to be careful, and aware of their surroundings, especially when travelling. If you want to leave Simon a message, you can visit his Facebook group here.