Another "Only in Dubai" moment.....

[iGro4Me]

This is fucking incredibly ridiculous....Just another in a long line of reasons why I won't be visiting anytime soon.....

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

By BETH HALE
Last updated at 10:23 08 February 2008

Jailed: Keith Brown had a speck of cannabis on 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.

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

 

[79towncar]

Wow that's extreme for something that could be found on the bottom of your shoe.

 

[whodair]

these are the tolerant people of that region of the world right? the iranians are the extremists remember..or was it the iraqis?

 

[Sir_Nugget]

well all know it could have been ANY ONE of us..

 

[spadedNfaded]

Rule #1.) Stay out of Dubai.

- SubN

 

[steppinRazor]

Dude that is SERIOUSLY FUCKT.

makes me feel lucky to be in MY situation..
btw got the links to those stories???

 

[crankndapot]

thats madness..

 

[Kizzattack]

Bloody hell. If I ever went to Dubai, I'd never see the light of day again.

 

[SemperAltus]

ya it would suck to get stopped at the airport. but why the fuck would you go to dubai anyway

 

[stoned16]

Thats just plain fucking ridiculous.It can't be constitutional to lock someone up for finding a speck of weed on their shoe. . .can it?I mean it could have come from anywhere!I'll be staying well clear anyway
peace

 

[SemperAltus]

Thats just plain fucking ridiculous.It can't be constitutional to lock someone up for finding a speck of weed on their shoe. . .can it?I mean it could have come from anywhere!I'll be staying well clear anyway
peace

does dubai even have a constitution? i tend to stay away from the asshole countrys of the world

 

[whitebox]

nobody has to go there .

they are from another age in term of political opinions and in the way they applied the laws. but they have mobiles, buildings and luxury tourism industry.

anybody can go there or have a bit of consciousness and go somewhere else where people don't bet for their life in the name of stupid and from another century laws.

don't give money to these already rich cheik.

.WB.

 

[iGro4Me]

Dude that is SERIOUSLY FUCKT.

makes me feel lucky to be in MY situation..
btw got the links to those stories???

Sorry bro....I meant to put the link...it was late...I was high


Here you go man.

LINK

 

[Yes4Prop215]

Wow one reason i will NEVER visit dubai.

Last time i traveled,there must have been some weed on me. My backpack smelled so rank, my dad thought i was smuggling.


I got through US customs just fine, i was somewhat worried they would give me an extra search because of the smell reeking from my backpack but nothing.

When i got to phoenix i was somewhat hoping i could find a little gram nug but there wasnt even any weed in the backpack. Its my nice northface bag, which i always use to carry my buds.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

Sorry not to sound racist because im not, my old roommate was actually a pretty decent kid who had grown up in Dubai and said good things about it, apparently they got nice clubs, hotels, and cars over there.

But there god damn T0w3lheads are just so out of whack i cannt see myself ever visiting that side of the globe. They make american conservatives look like the most liberal stoner hippies you can imagine.

I hate on america and our oppresive police government, but then i realize i am just blowing smoke because we have it sooo easy here, we can smoke weed in the street, drink ourselves retarded, break all sorts of laws, and all we get is a court date, a fine, and some community service.

Japan also has some pretty retarded views on cannabis, since my heritage lies in japan i have to visit there alot. I am gonna make sure i am extra careful that i dont have any buds on me. Even though one time i snuck some shrooms over there in a sandwhich.

 

[Euphrates]

Dubai sucks

Dubai sucks

Fuck dubai and the filthy immoral Saudi emirates, where apparently being raped is a crime. You could not pay me to go to dubai (let alone any muslim country). There are far more f**ked up things about dubai than just this(topic of thread).

Please note, I am not trying to hate on muslim's. They can't all be bad.

[link to www.dailymail.co.uk]

"Ten-year-old girls are ready for marriage, according to Saudi Arabia's most senior cleric".

"Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al Sheikh, the country's grand mufti, told Al Hayat newspaper that those saying ten or 12-year-old girls are too young to marry are being 'unfair' to them".

What person would subject a 10 year old girl to married life?
It is inhumane, as even the Saudi Human Rights group agree.

Not to mention they are racist pieces of excrement, not that racisim doesn't exist any where else on this earth.

I wish oil would become obsolete, let them go back to camel trading.

I copyed and paste some reasons why dubai sucks, and why you should never go there let alone move there.

1.There are too few trees, plants, and grass – or living things aside from us crazy humans, for that matter. Ever see a bird pant? I have. In my opinion, human beings were not meant to live in such a place. If we were, there would be sufficient water and shade. The only greenery around are the roadside gardens planted by the government, who waters the hell out of them in the middle of the day. Thanks a lot! Didn’t you say we should cut down on our water consumption because you are unable to keep up with the demand? I have an idea: let’s all move someplace where it’s not 120 degrees outside.

2. This country prides itself so much on its glitz and glamour that it put a picture of its 7-star hotel on the license plate. Yet, the public toilets in the king-of-bling Gold Souk district are holes in the ground with no toilet paper or soap. Hoses to rinse your nether regions, however, are provided. This results in a mass of water on the floor that you must stand in to pee. Try squatting without touching anything and keeping your pants from touching anything either. Oh yeah. It’s 120 degrees in there too.

3. The clothing some of these women wear makes no sense to me. I understand that as part of your religion you are required to dress in a particular way, but a black robe over your jeans and turtleneck and cover your head when it is 120 degrees outside? In the gym some women wear five layers of clothing…sweatpants and t-shits over sweaters with headscarves. Yet the men’s clothing makes absolute sense: white, airy, and nothing underneath but their skivvies.

4. People stare at you. I am sick of being stared at. I’m stared at by men who have never seen a fair-skinned blue-eyed woman before, or who have and think we are all prostitutes so it’s okay to stare. They stare at me when I am fully covered or with my husband, and even follow me around. It’s beyond creepy and has brought me to tears on more than one occasion. The staring is not limited to men, either. I’m stared at angrily by female prostitutes who think I am running in on their territory by having a few drinks with my husband at the bar.

5. Prostitutes? Oh hell yes, there are prostitutes. Tons of them. So, let me get this straight, I can’t look at a naked picture of a person on the Internet in the privacy of my home, but it is okay to go out in public and buy a few for the night?

6. Dubai is far from environmentally friendly. Ever wonder how much damage those manmade islands are doing to the delicate ocean ecosystem? Coral reefs, sea grasses, and oyster beds that were once part of protected marine lands lie choked under a barrage of dredged up sea sand. Consider the waste that occurs from erecting buildings on top of these sand monsters and from the people that occupy them coupled with the lack of an effective recycling program and you have an environmental disaster on your hands. Add to this more gas guzzling SUVs than fuel-efficient cars on the road and the need for 24-hour powerful air-conditioning and its evident that the environment is not high on the priority list of the UAE.

 

[Hal]

How does the British gov't NOT GET INVOLVED on this? This guy could have stepped on the speck of ganja, how the hell does the British govt NOT DEMAND HIS RELEASE? I didn't see anything in the story about the British govt coming to his defense, nothing at all...I don't see how this can happen.

 

[Euphrates]

I do believe this has happened before in poo-bi, man arrested for .03 grams of cannabis on his shoe lace. Quite frankly I don't think there is anything they can technically do.

They should at least warn travels to travel to these places at their own risk.

What I ponder is how the heck did they detect such a minuscule amount, that technology is scary, IMO.

 

[NOKUY]

only good thing dubai has is an indoor ski/snowboard resort...aside from that the whole fukin place can drown for all i care. (learn to swim...assholes)

 

[WoW maannnn]

i have said it b4, and now once more, F dubai in its A....wow man, makes me want to stop driving my car