Briton, 74, gets death penalty for drug smuggling

A 74-year-old Briton has been sentenced to death after being caught trying to smuggle 3 million pounds (about $45,88,000) worth of cannabis into Egypt. He now faces death by firing squad or hanging.

Charles Raymond Ferndale was arrested with the three-tonne haul on his yacht in the Red Sea, Daily Express reported.

Britain's foreign office staff were in court in Hurghada, a city in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt, where the death sentence was announced Monday.

"We are opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. Our consular team are in contact with the British prisoner and we will do our utmost to prevent this execution," a spokesperson said.

In case the consular team failed in its effort, Ferndale would face death by firing squad or hanging.

Besides Ferndale, three men from the Seychelles were also sentenced to death. A Pakistani man, who escaped when the others were arrested in 2011, was sentenced in his absence.