Briton jailed for four years (cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar)

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Briton jailed for four years in Dubai after customs find cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar under his shoe

A father-of-three who was found with a microscopic speck of cannabis stuck to the bottom of one of his shoes has been sentenced to four years in a Dubai prison.

Keith Brown, a council youth development officer, was travelling through the United Arab Emirates on his way back to England when he was stopped as he walked through Dubai's main airport.

A search by customs officials uncovered a speck of cannabis weighing just 0.003g - so small it would be invisible to the naked eye and weighing less than a grain of sugar - on the tread of one of his shoes.

Dubai International Airport is a major hub for the Middle East and thousands of Britons pass through it every year to holiday in the glamorous beach and shopping haven.

But many of those tourists and business travellers are likely to be unaware of the strict zero-tolerance drugs policy in the UAE.

One man has even been jailed for possession of three poppy seeds left over from a bread roll he ate at Heathrow Airport. Painkiller codeine is also banned.

If suspicious of a traveller, customs officials can use high-tech equipment to uncover even the slightest trace of drugs.

Mr Brown was detained and arrested in September last year and has been held in a cell with three other men in the city prison ever since.

This week the youth worker, who has two young children and a partner at home in Smethwick, West Midlands, was sentenced to four years in prison.

A 25-year-old Briton who was found with a similar speck in one pocket as he arrived on holiday has been awaiting sentence since November.

Meanwhile a Big Brother TV executive has so far been held without charge for five days after being arrested for possessing the health supplement melatonin.

The authorities claim to have discovered 0.01g of hashish in his luggage.

Last night Mr Brown's brother Lee said his case "defied belief".

"For that sort of amount common sense should prevail, from where it was found it was obviously something that had been crushed on the floor - it could have come from anywhere."

Rastafarian Mr Brown had been returning from a short trip to Ethiopia, where one of his children lives and where he owns property.

He was travelling with his partner Imani, who was also stopped and detained for more than a week.

Normally he flew direct to and from the UK, but decided to stop off in Dubai.

"He was incensed when he called me," said driving instructor Lee, 57. "It would be funny if the circumstances weren't so unpleasant.

"Bugs are crawling out of his mattress when he's sleeping. His family are frantic with worry and can't call him."

Last night campaign group Fair Trials International advised visitors to Dubai and Abu Dhabi to "take extreme caution".

Chief Executive Catherine Wolthuizen said: "We have seen a steep increase in such cases over the last 18 months.

"Customs authorities are using highly sensitive new equipment to conduct extremely thorough searches on travellers and if they find any amount - no matter how minute - it will be enough to attract a mandatory four-year prison sentence."

Mrs Wolthuizen added: "We even have reports of the imprisonment of a Swiss man for 'possession' of three poppy seeds on his clothing after he ate a bread roll at Heathrow.

Cat Le-Huy

Held: A campaign is underway to secure the release of Cat Le-Huy from a Dubai jail

"What many travellers may not realise is that they can be deemed to be in possession of such banned substances if they can be detected in their urine or bloodstream, or even in tiny, trace amounts on their person."

Only two months after Mr Brown was stopped economics graduate Robert Dalton was detained in almost identical circumstances.

Mr Dalton, from Gravesend, on Kent was with two friends when he was stopped and asked to empty his pockets.

Officials found 0.03g of cannabis in a small amount of fluff. He is currently on trial and if convicted, is likely receive a four-year prison sentence.

Last night his brother Peter, 26, told how it took 24 hours to find out why he had been stopped.

"As we understand, the amount of cannabis was barely visible to the human eye and was at the bottom of the pocket of an old pair of jeans.

"He's not a drug user, but he goes clubbing and the speck was so small."

Last week Cat Le-Huy, a London-based German national, was arrested on arrival at the airport.

Mr Le-Huy, 31, head of technology with Big Brother production company Endemol, was arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal drugs after customs officers found melatonin, a health supplement used for jet lag available over the counter both in Dubai and in the US.

Authorities also claim they discovered fragments in one of his bags which they believe to be hashish. Fair Trials International said the amount was 0.01g.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...in_article_id=512815&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490
 
All of these stories are totally ridiculous and unbelievable. It's so shocking that these people are receiving a minimum of 4 years for the amounts of substances found on or in their clothing. 0.003g of THC and 0.03g of THC .. oh my god!!!
 
(Picks up notebook and crosses Dubai off his Nation's to visit list)

I am actually outraged. Four years of my life for something I stepped on?

Because of Melatonin? Please.
 
wow, i would never travel to or through UAE. why do they even bother prosecuting in cases like this? it just seems so pointless and mean.

hopefully Britain can extradite, then pardon him.
 
Dubai is an extremely nice tourist spot that I would have liked to go to at some point in my life, but after reading this I would be hesitant as they could find a microscopic piece of cannibis in my hair or somethin.
 
An article about the same incident (plus others):

Tourists warned of UAE drug laws

Dubai is popular among tourists and businesses

Travellers to the United Arab Emirates are being warned about its severe drug laws which have seen dozens detained for apparently minor offences.

Fair Trials International said arrests were being made over tiny quantities of drugs and over-the-counter medicines.

British tourist Keith Brown was sentenced to four years in prison after Dubai customs officers found a 0.003g trace of cannabis stuck to his shoe.

Fair Trials, a legal charity, said it has seen a steep rise in such cases.

Possession of painkillers like codeine and some cold and flu medication could result in a mandatory four-year prison sentence, Fair Trials International said.

In one of the most extreme cases, it reported a man being held after poppy seeds from a bread roll were found on his clothes.

In recent years, chic hotels, skyscrapers and golden beaches have turned Dubai and Abu Dhabi into popular tourist destinations.


Many have no idea what risks they're taking or their vulnerability to this very strict approach


Businesses too have flocked to the UAE, which promises a high standard of living because of its oil wealth.

However, while it is considered one of the most liberal countries in the Gulf, the Muslim country's drugs laws are severe.

Last year, 59 Britons were arrested in the UAE on drugs-related charges, according to the Foreign Office.


HELD IN THE UAE

Keith Brown, 43, Middlesex: Four-year jail term for possession of 0.003g of cannabis
Robert Dalton, 25, Kent: On trial for alleged possession of 0.03g of cannabis
20-year-old, West Yorkshire: On trial for alleged possession of 0.02g of cannabis
Tracy Wilkinson, 45, West Sussex: Held in custody for eight weeks for possession of codeine before release
Swiss national: Four-year jail term after poppy seeds found on his clothes


Catherine Wolthuizen, chief executive of Fair Trials International, said customs authorities were using highly sensitive new equipment to conduct thorough searches on travellers.

"So many people now travel to Dubai and, as we're seeing, many have no idea what risks they're taking or their vulnerability to this very strict approach," she said.

"If they find any amount - no matter how minute - it will be enough to attract a mandatory four-year prison sentence.

"What many travellers may not realise is that they can be deemed to be in possession of such banned substances if they can be detected in their urine or bloodstream, or even in tiny, trace amounts on their person."

Jet-lag tablets

Keith Brown and his wife had been on their way from London to Ethiopia when they were stopped and searched at Dubai airport.

At first customs officers found nothing, but then a roll-up cigarette was spotted caught in the tread of his shoe.

The 43-year-old, from Middlesex, was charged with possession of 0.003g of cannabis and was sentenced to four years in prison.


Cat Le-Huy
I suppose there's a sense of disbelief more than anything else
Cat Le-Huy, held in Dubai

British resident Cat Le-Huy was arrested in Dubai for carrying Melatonin jet-lag tablets, which are sold over the counter in the US and Dubai.

Mr Le-Huy told BBC News he was forced to sign a document in Arabic and was refused a translator.

He said once the tablets were proved to be Melatonin, police took what he described as dirt from his bag and said they were now testing it to see if it was cannabis.

Speaking from inside the prison, he said he knew nothing of any drugs in his bag.

"I suppose there's a sense of disbelief more than anything else. I miss my friends and family back in London and I'm also aware of the other stress this is causing to friends and family.

"As far as my welfare, I'm being treated relatively well and I have to go through the system and whatever path that takes, I'll just have to deal with it."

Bread roll

Aside from illegal substances, travellers have also been held for possession of prescription drugs.

Tracy Wilkinson was held in custody for eight weeks before customs officers accepted the codeine she was carrying had been prescribed by her doctor for back pains.

Meanwhile, a Swiss national is serving a four-year jail term after three poppy seeds from a bread roll he ate at Heathrow airport were found on his clothes.

Fair Trials International has published a full list of banned substances on its website.

The Foreign Office is advising all travellers carrying any prescription drugs to take a doctor's letter detailing exactly why they need the medicine and the exact dose.

The UAE Embassy in London said it would not comment at this stage.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7234786.stm
 
Sad stories….. I hope they don’t depend on tourism money because these kind of stories would scare almost any tourist away.
 
How can the British government not step in and put ver heavy pressure on these ignorant fools?

A spec is totally ridiculous to charge someone for, and even more ridiculous that they search with such a keen eye...
 
I wonder how they confirmed what it was. I wonder how little they're able to confirm with today's technology. US Cops have a hard time deciding if something is or isn't a pot seed, for fuck's sake.

It is a perversion of justice that these people are being arrested. It's insane.

In the US no court would convict anyone for a flake that tiny, it'd be ruled unconstitutional, for sure.

Where the hell is mens rea?
 
I have to wonder how well trained these officials are...i mean comon..a speck of cannabis?

"At first customs officers found nothing, but then a roll-up cigarette was spotted caught in the tread of his shoe."

Can people not smoke tobacco also? Harsh
 
So is melatonin illegal there? Something that is produced naturally by the human brain.

The .003 grams is insane but our drug laws were and still are horrible in the US. Read "Reefer Madness" by Eric Schlosser, he follows the insanity of marijuana laws but most of us already know how stupid they really are. There is a guy who got a life sentance in some backwards ass city for less than a gram and there is a southern state that makes hemp product posession illegal and equal sentance to it's weight in cannabis.
 
Kaneh Bosm said:
So is melatonin illegal there? Something that is produced naturally by the human brain.

The .003 grams is insane but our drug laws were and still are horrible in the US. Read "Reefer Madness" by Eric Schlosser, he follows the insanity of marijuana laws but most of us already know how stupid they really are. There is a guy who got a life sentance in some backwards ass city for less than a gram and there is a southern state that makes hemp product posession illegal and equal sentance to it's weight in cannabis.


No, melatonin is legal and sold OTC in Dubai.
 
Ham-milton said:
I wonder how they confirmed what it was. I wonder how little they're able to confirm with today's technology. US Cops have a hard time deciding if something is or isn't a pot seed, for fuck's sake.
gas chromatography / mass spectrometer doesnt need more than a couple milligrams
Schnitzalted said:
I have to wonder how well trained these officials are...i mean comon..a speck of cannabis?
it seems to me like they are aware of what they are doing, but they want international press on how sensitive their drug-detecting equipment is
Kaneh Bosm said:
So is melatonin illegal there? Something that is produced naturally by the human brain.
DMT, morphine, and GHB are illegal in the US, which are also produced by and used by the human body (maybe not the DMT, that one isnt definitive yet)
 
That's fucked up. Someone could easily get such a tiny amount on their clothing without ever knowing they came into contact with any drug. That's probably not what happened considering he is a rastafarian, but still a load of shit.

Getting busted for 3 poppy seeds is even more fucked up. They are used as food in most of the world.

I don't know why anyone would want to visit such ass-backwards countries. I wish this bullshit would get more media attention, maybe it would prevent this from happening to others and deny those places income from tourists.

I imagine the US government is pleased with this. They now have many countries doing even better than them at punishing the wretched, low-life drug users.

Maybe they'll start locking up everyone who possesses money with traces of coke on it next.

Next step, lock us up for the illegal substances we manufacture within our bodies. Manufacturing drugs is a more serious offense. We'd probably get death for that!
 
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