Quote :

"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. [...] 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."

http://tinyurl.com/ywc6rt

2/8/2008 7:58:30 AM

Remind me to wear Ziploc bags over my shoes should I make a flight switchover in Dubai. The dude probably picked it up just walking through the terminal.

2/8/2008 8:05:28 AM

OMG HANG HIM




but seriously

I welcome stories like this

stories like this only hurt drug prohibition




(everything I own probably has 0.003g of weed on it )

2/8/2008 8:06:32 AM

Note to self: Never travel to Dubai.

2/8/2008 8:17:34 AM

Quote :

"everything I own probably has 0.003g of weed on it "

lol

2/8/2008 8:35:19 AM

like he doesn't smoke weed (that's the dude that got arrested).

2/8/2008 9:02:48 AM

ahahahha, raiden wins

2/8/2008 9:13:41 AM

the thing is that he was PASSING THROUGH

what a stupid fucking country

2/8/2008 10:15:55 AM

this is the country that let Haliburton set up shop

2/8/2008 10:22:00 AM

i'm really getting tired of the Middle East

2/8/2008 10:24:40 AM

This guy only had .003 grams of weed on him?

2/8/2008 10:38:44 AM

If it was invisible to the naked eye, how did they find it?

2/8/2008 10:44:50 AM

if you don't want to be arrested for possession charges, that is probably not the best way to dress when around the feds. something tells me the speck didn't come from the terminal floor...

four years in prison for it though... not sure ab that one... why don't they just search his car outside in the parking lot and find something they can really bust him for.

2/8/2008 11:02:02 AM

I'm sure the British embassy will do something about this

2/8/2008 11:04:23 AM

how the fuck did they even detect that?

2/8/2008 11:27:18 AM

Maybe some drug dogs could smell it or something.

2/8/2008 11:35:35 AM

^^

Quote :

"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. "

Still, doesn't prove it was his. Anything caught stuck under a shoe is and should be considered garbage picked up while walking. If it turns out to be something illegal or valuable, how can the authorities prove that it actually belongs/belonged to the person wearing the shoe?

This is fucking Nazi-like behaviour.

Oh, and you guys think 0.003 grams is nothing... how about going to jail for 4 years for THREE poppy seeds?



Or for melatonin tablets, which are sold OTC in Dubai?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7234786.stm

Quote :

""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.""

Some more stories:

Quote :

"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. "

Quote :

"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. "

Quote :

"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. "

2/8/2008 1:27:01 PM

fuuuuck. and i was just planning to stop in amsterdam for a day on my way to dubai lmao.

2/8/2008 1:31:45 PM

remind me NEVER to take a connecting flight through Dubai (or anywhere else in the middle east). NEVER!

2/8/2008 1:45:32 PM

Quote :

"stories like this only hurt drug prohibition"

Do they? I would think they just hurt the perception of the Dubai justice system. I mean this is totally absurd as written...

[Edited on February 8, 2008 at 2:27 PM. Reason : x]

2/8/2008 2:26:44 PM