Erik Anthony Audé (born April 5, 1980) is an American actor, stuntman, restaurateur, and professional poker player who was arrested and imprisoned in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

for alleged

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

. Audé maintains that he was duped into carrying opium and believed he was importing leather goods. Audé's experiences were adapted into a 2013 episode of the

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

television series '' Locked Up Abroad'', and also into the 2018 documentary film ''3 Years in Pakistan: The Erik Audé Story''. He appears as himself in both works.

History

Audé was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He attended Bethel Christian School in

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the popul ...

, and played

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

there. In 2002, Audé was persuaded to carry leather samples from

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, to the United States by Razmik Minasian (who used the alias Rai Gharizian), an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

client at the gymnasium where Audé was employed. Minasian concealed from Audé the fact that the case containing leather skirts and jackets also contained

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

. On February 15, 2002, Audé was arrested at

Islamabad International Airport Islamabad International Airport () () is an international airport serving Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan and Rawalpindi. It is located south-west of the city, and is directly connected to the Lahore and Peshawar motorways as well to ...

after being found, according to Pakistani authorities, with 3.6 kilograms (7.9 pounds) of opium in the process of embarking on his scheduled flight to

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. Pakistan is not a party to the United States' Prison Transfer Treaty program. The actor, convicted in January 2003, began serving a sentence of seven years at the Adiala Central Jail in nearby

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

. At the time, a number of articles in the press speculated on the odds of his surviving the full term of his seven-year sentence. Audé's 2004 release followed an appeal by New Mexico Governor

Bill Richardson William Blaine Richardson III (November 15, 1947 – September 1, 2023) was an American politician, author, and diplomat who served as the List of governors of New Mexico, 30th governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. He was U.S. ambassador to ...

just before

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

, and followed Minasian's written confession that Audé was innocent of knowing he was being used to smuggle opium. A number of websites were set up to help promote his cause, and to document the struggle to free him. The actor arrived at

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its Greater Los Angeles, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. LAX is located in the Westchester, Los Angeles, Westcheste ...

on December 26, 2004, after entering the United States at

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...

. As of 2009 Audé lives in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

.Smith, L. Christopher, "Among the Terrorists", ''

Men's Journal ''Men's Journal'' was an American men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and gear. It was founded in 1992 by Jann Wenner of ...

'', August 2007, Page 107

Filmography

References

External links

*
Crime Library article

Erik Audé Blog
- The Pokerdonk {{DEFAULTSORT:Aude, Erik Male actors from California American male film actors American drug traffickers American people imprisoned abroad Foreign nationals imprisoned in Pakistan 1980 births Living people American expatriates in Pakistan

History

Filmography

References

Further reading

External links