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Tourist's prison nightmare over after 'Christmas miracle'

An American woman arrested in East Timor over a stash of drugs that didn't belong to her has finally been released from prison in what her family are calling a Christmas miracle.

Tourist Stacey Addison experienced a tourist's worst nightmare after methamphetamine was found in a taxi she shared with a stranger en route to the capital Dili.

The veterinarian, who had just crossed from Indonesia when she was arrested on September 5th, wrote on Facebook that the other passenger picked up a package containing the drugs, and police later detained everyone in the car.


A Facebook page dedicated to advocating Ms Addison's release said her passport remains in the hands of East Timor authorities.

Embassy staff had worked all day on Christmas to secure the paperwork for her release, posts on the Facebook said.

“She has kindly been invited to stay at the guesthouse of the former President of East Timor and Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta,” it reads.

Ms Addison was initially released from jail after several days but her passport was confiscated pending further investigation.

However, at a hearing on October 29 to get her passport back, she was re-arrested and sent back to prison.

"PLEASE HELP!" she wrote in a Facebook post two weeks after her initial arrest. She denied any wrongdoing.

A post on a Facebook page dedicated to supporting Stacey Addison posts a message of thanks in honour of her release. Photo: Facebook/Help Stacey
A post on a Facebook page dedicated to supporting Stacey Addison posts a message of thanks in honour of her release. Photo: Facebook/Help Stacey

"My bags were searched, my body was searched, all medications I am carrying were tested, and my urine was tested."

All the tests came back negative, she added.

After her conditional release, Addison said that she had been informed an investigation into the case would likely take a year.

Her lawyer Paulo Remedios in East Timor confirmed the details, telling AFP: "She was believed to have violated anti-narcotics laws as police found narcotics in a car she was sharing with another passenger and a driver."

East Timor police refused to comment.

East Timor, a nation that was occupied by Indonesia for over two decades, imposes tough punishments for drugs cases, including the death penalty for traffickers.