Traveller's shock: Mysterious tablets found in suitcase

Julia Golovniova from East Sussex experienced a shock when, after returning from Thailand to the United Kingdom, she found five white tablets hidden in a plastic glove inside her suitcase. She is now warning other travellers about similar surprises.

The traveller encountered something unsettling while unpacking her luggage at home.

- I found some white tablets in a clear plastic glove, all in the bottom of one finger of the glove — she said in an interview with Newsweek UK. - It was deep within my suitcase buried in my dirty clothes.

The tablets had no markings, and Julia had no idea how they arrived. The discovery caused her significant anxiety, especially since Thailand's laws harshly punish drug possession.

- I was shocked when I first found it unpacking at home, it felt really scary that somehow someone had either accidentally or intentionally put it in my suitcase and I traveled unaware that something I hadn't packed was in there - she admitted.

Although the woman realises that what she transported may not be dangerous, she would like answers to the questions that have been troubling her for several days.

Julia suspects that the tablets could have made their way into her luggage during an incident at Koh Samui airport.

- I had stupidly left a power bank in my suitcase and so when we got to baggage collection at Bangkok, two men were holding a sign with my name on and asked me to follow them to their office - the woman recounts. - They said that there was a power bank in my suitcase and so it needed to be searched which they needed my permission for. The bag had not made it onto the plane at Koh Samui and had been held back till I gave my permission.

The woman had to sign a form allowing local authorities to search the suitcase and was required to pay 500 Thai baht (about £11) for the luggage to be delivered to her hotel in Bangkok the next day.

Sheldon Jacobson, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an expert in aviation security, believes it may have been an innocent mistake.

- It is unfortunate that the woman did not take the bag's content to a lab or university chemistry department to have it analyzed. I am sure that the substance is benign, or other issues would have come up - he said in an interview with Newsweek UK.

Julia urges travellers to be cautious.

- Be more aware of what is in your suitcase especially if traveling to multiple locations. Check the contents of your bag thoroughly before flying on to your next destination and never agree to your bag being searched without being present - she advises.

She also emphasises that once we hand over our luggage, we no longer have control over what might end up in it, even if it's locked, so it's definitely worth considering wrapping your luggage in plastic or travelling exclusively with carry-on baggage.