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| posted by smudge 97 days ago |
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7234786.stm
Travellers to the United Arab Emirates are being warned about its severe drug laws which have seen dozens detained for apparently minor offences.
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.
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.
Last year, 59 Britons were arrested in the UAE on drugs-related charges, according to the Foreign Office.
"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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
Adipic Acid (for Tartness)
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