UAE drug arrests surge in 2007

Simon Goldsmith, media affairs spokesperson, British Embassy in Dubai, said there is a need for more awareness of the strict UAE drug laws among the country’s visitors.

“We need to raise awareness of drugs, that there’s a zero tolerance policy and you can go to prison for four years,” Goldsmith told UAE daily Gulf News.

There were 59 British citizens arrested in the UAE on drug-related charges in 2007, according to the British Foreign Office.

These include Keith Brown who was jailed for four years after 0.003 grams of cannabis was found in the tread of his shoe, and British Radio 1 DJ Raymond Bingham, who was sentenced to four years jail on Tuesday, after he was caught with 2.16 grams of cannabis in November.

The UAE’s drug laws are severe, despite its more liberal reputation among the Gulf nations, and strict rules stipulate imprisonment for a minimum of four years followed by deportation for those convicted of drug possession.

People convicted of drugs trafficking can face capital punishment, although executions rarely take place.

The warning from the British embassy follows a similar urgent caution from legal aid organization Fair Trials International earlier this month.

Catherine Wolthuizen, chief executive at Fair Trials International, said the group had also noticed a steep increase in UAE drug charges against tourists 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 4 year prison sentence.”

Wolthuizen said many travellers did not realise they could be charged for possession of banned substances if they are detected in urine or bloodstream, or from tiny amounts on their person.

Over a million British visitors are believed to have travelled to the UAE in 2007, while more than 100,000 British nationals are resident there.