Stroud Drug Dealer Survives Nine Years in Ecuador’s Brutal Prisons: “I Lost Count of Deaths”

Pieter Tritton, raised in Stroud, Gloucestershire, spent nine harrowing years trapped within Ecuador’s most dangerous and corrupt prisons. A former drug dealer turned convicted drug smuggler, Pieter’s story reveals the brutal reality of life inside the South American penal system—where violence and death were everyday occurrences.

From an early age, Pieter was exposed to drugs; his family regularly used cannabis, which ultimately drew him down a dark path. In the 1990s, his drug dealing empire expanded until his arrest. “Dealing drugs is almost more addictive than taking them,” Pieter admits. “You get hooked on the adrenaline, the excitement, the constant mental chess against the system.”

While incarcerated, he discovered an ingenious smuggling method: “cocaine impregnation,” where drugs were concealed inside everyday items like plastic chairs. This innovation helped his operation grow into a global enterprise involving traffickers from Colombia and Chile. Their shipments included transporting up to five kilograms of cocaine hidden inside tents, generating around £300,000 per trip.

However, Pieter’s criminal network fell apart when a member betrayed the group, leading to his and his then-girlfriend’s arrest in Ecuador in 2005. Though she was released, Pieter received a 12-year sentence and served nine years.

Transferred to Quito’s prison, Pieter was shocked by the extreme levels of violence. “People would get shot in front of you out of the blue,” he recalls, “One moment you’re walking around fine, the next someone is dead on the floor with their brains spilled out.” He witnessed horrific deaths—electrocutions, brutal stabbings, shootings, beheadings. When asked how many died around him, Pieter says he “lost count.”

The trauma took an immense toll, leaving him with severe PTSD and constant fear for his life. “Every single day, I wondered if I’d see the next morning,” he says.

His health declined further after a transfer to Guayaquil’s prison, where he contracted tuberculosis and battled it for three years.

To survive, Pieter cleverly ingratiated himself with violent inmates by convincing them he was indispensable, hoping this would protect him.

In 2014, Pieter was repatriated to the UK to finish his sentence at HMP Wandsworth, after paying a hefty $8,000 fine to Ecuadorian authorities. Today, he stands as a changed man, reflecting on a decade marked by addiction, betrayal, violence, and resilience.