A notorious drugs smuggler who was locked up for nine years in an Ecuadorian jail says it had nothing on the state of UK prisons. While he was locked up in Ecuador, Pieter Tritton not only had a luxurious bed in his cell, but he enjoyed the “surreal” experience of watching a live football game from Cheltenham on his satellite TV. Pieter served a total of 10 years and 12 days in South American prisons after being busted with a tent that had been soaked in liquid cocaine.
But the Gloucestershire-born graduate had started trying to take advantage of Ecuador’s reputation for police corruption straight away. Speaking to podcaster Dodge Woodall , he recalled how he told the arresting officers: “I'll give you £25k now in cash, give me a phone I'll get you another £100k in an hour or whatever. I'll get it sent over – you can keep the tent we just forget this ever happened .
..you could say that you just didn't find anything.
” But while Pieter’s attempts at bribing the police and an Ecuadorian judge didn’t quite go to plan, he found that his massive wealth ensured him a very cushy ride in jail. He continued: “You can buy your sell over there. For about £2k what you can choose which cell you want.
” He described how he made sure he had a comfortable stay behind bars, adding: “I had the whole cell refurbed. I had black porcelain tiles put in there had it made up real nice. I had it re-plastered, rewired I had a TV in there, a fridge, new mattresses.
.. when we used.