TV3?S ?BANGED UP ABROAD? FEATURES DUBLIN WOMAN SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS IN ECUADORIAN PRISON

TV3 GROUP RELEASE

IMMEDIATE: Wednesday, 30th June 2010

The first episode of Banged Up Abroad features Irish-born Zoë McGarry, who was sentenced to eight years in prison after cocaine was discovered in her backpack

Zoë was slashed with knives, sexually assaulted by guards and endured years of trauma while imprisoned in the Ecuadorian jail.

Find out if Zoë is safely home in Ireland… or does she tell her story from behind the cell bars?

Tune into Banged Up Abroad, every Thursday at 8pm from 1st July


From drug smuggling to kidnap and deception, TV3 brings viewers on a rollercoaster ride of crime and punishment in the fourth series of Banged Up Abroad, where people tell their harrowing stories of experiences in prisons abroad.

The series begins with Dublin-born Zoë McGarry who found herself in a situation beyond her most terrible fears. When Nigerian husband Olu brought Zoë back to his homeland they became firm friends with Tony - a friendly Nigerian who worked in the local marketplace. In a short space of time the three became so close that they were almost like family. Zoë says: ‘‘It was just amazing how close we all grew together… he was really special to us. I trusted him with my life’’.

Tony disappeared to Ecuador, where Zoë caught up with him when he convinced her to help him with paperwork to renew his visa. When Tony gave Zoë a backpack filled with souvenirs to take back home with her to London she never questioned it. However, after boarding the plane, Zoë was detained by armed policemen who brought her in for questioning. Upon inspection it quickly emerged that approximately 5lbs of cocaine was hidden in the lining of the bag that Tony had given her.

Zoë was taken to El Inca prison to await her trial. She says of the prison: ‘‘Drugs were like buying candy in a store. You could buy it everywhere and any type you wanted. It was just there. The guard… the police on the roof were selling drugs. Drug addicts there trying to steal you, cut you up. I’ve been cut up three times with knives for a dollar. Everyone was convinced because I’m a foreigner I had lots of money’’. Zoë also reveals that she was sexually assaulted by two guards while showering in the prison but screamed until they left her alone.

Despite protesting her innocence, Zoë was convicted of cocaine smuggling and sentenced to eight years in prison. She says: “I heard my sentence; it destroyed me and took away everything that I had - my strength, my smile, my heart, my faith… everything. It just ripped me apart”.

During his visit to Ecuador, husband Olu and Zoë met with a new lawyer who advised her to escape the prison. She reveals: “The exact plan to escape was get out of the prison to a hospital. The doctor would do that. He’d sign me out of prison pretending I was sick. The lawyer had planned to take me from the hospital. They would get me a false passport and drive me to Columbia, get a flight from Columbia to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to London… and I’d be home. I went to the hospital. I had to be there for four days and then it was time to do it…’’

Tune into Banged Up Abroad on Thursday 1st July to see if Zoë safely escapes from the Ecuadorian prison and returns home.


ENDS.

For further information:
Orla O’Hanlon / Ciara Byrne
TV3 PRESS OFFICE
+353 1 419 3425/ 329
+353 86 8817874/ +353 87 319 9732
Orla.ohanlon@tv3.ie
Ciara.byrne@tv3.ie
publicity@tv3.ie
www.tv3.ie