Travellers warned to obey Dubai's drug laws

Individuals caught with banned substances face severe penalties, even if they are only carrying trace amounts of a drug or the substances are legal in their home countries. Given that the Dubai authorities do not deviate from their strict rules, business travellers cannot afford to be oblivious to the emirate's zero tolerance policy.

There has been a steep increase in the number of drug-related arrests of travellers in the UAE over the past 18 months according to Fair Trials International, a legal-aid organisation based in London.

'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,' said the organisation's chief executive Catherine Wolthuizen.

Keith Andrew Brown, a client of FTI, was recently sentenced to four years in prison after 0.003g of cannabis was found in the tread of his shoe by customs officials in Dubai during transit from Ethiopia to London. FTI said such a tiny amount would not be visible to the naked eye, and would weigh less than a single grain of sugar.

In another case, a Swiss national is currently serving four years after three poppy seeds were found on his clothes by customs officials at Dubai airport. He had bought and eaten a bread roll at Heathrow before flying to UAE, FTI said.

Meanwhile, UK Radio 1 DJ Grooverider was sentenced last week to four years in Dubai for possession of cannabis. The DJ - real name Raymond Bingham - was arrested at the city's airport on November 23 after flying in for a nightclub gig. Customs officials found 2.16 grams of cannabis in his luggage.

'After a sharp increase in the number of arrests for possession of trace amounts of banned substances, we felt sufficiently alarmed to issue an urgent warning to travellers, so they could better protect themselves against falling foul of these tough laws,' Wolthuizen said.

'We have also written to the Emirati Ambassador to the UK to ask the Emirati Government to do more to publicise the list of controlled substances and warn travellers of the zero tolerance approach being adopted in that country.'

She said the UAE's drug enforcement practices seem excessive, especially at a time when the UAE is marketing itself as an attractive tourism destination. 'None of the cases we have seen involved useable or trafficable amounts of these banned substances, nor have any of the defendants even known they had these substances anywhere on them' she said.

'In these circumstances, mandatory four-year sentences do seem very harsh, given the complete absence of any intent to breach UAE drug laws. It is surprising to see customs authorities taking such an unusually strict approach which can only make people more wary about travelling to the country.'

Some common medicines banned

Wolthuizen warns that the list of banned substances in the UAE includes many medications available over-the-counter in other countries, such as codeine - a common ingredient in pain relief and cold-and-flu medication.

'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,' Wolthuizen said. 'Travellers need to know the risks they face if they are not completely clean of any banned substance or do not have a prescription for any medication they are carrying.'

Wolthuizen strongly urges travellers to review the UAE's list of 374 restricted medications. 'Travellers who are planning to take any medication should ensure they are not taking a banned narcotic (such as more than 30mg of codeine) and if they are taking what the UAE classifies as a Class A or Class B substance (which includes many medications available over-the-counter in other countries), they should ensure they have a prescription for it,' she said.

Know before you go

Simon Goldsmith, spokesman for the British Embassy of Dubai, agrees that there is a need for greater awareness of the strict UAE drug laws. Over the last year, 64 Britons have been arrested on drugs-related charges in the country, while about 60% of detainees who request consular assistance from the embassy have been arrested for drug-related offences, he said.

'We welcome the flow of tourists between the UK and UAE - it's one of the pillars of the relationship,' Goldsmith noted. 'But when it comes to drugs, we want travellers to be aware of the consequences. Our longstanding advice is explicit: the penalties for drugs offences in the UAE are severe.'

Travellers who are detained for a drug-related offence cannot expect officials from their country to swoop in and solve their problem. The British embassy can only help people arrested on drug charges by seeing them within 48 hours and providing details of local lawyers. It does not provide legal advice or interfere in court proceedings, Goldsmith said.

'Our key message is simple and applies to everyone - know before you go - research your destination and obey local laws,' Goldsmith said.

Wolthuizen says travellers who believe they may have come into contact with any other banned substance, particularly cannabis, must ensure their clothing and belongings are completely free of anything which could trigger a search, and that they have no traces of such substances in their system.