Customs Arrest in Dubai for Carrying Pot

Transporting Cannabis Seeds = 4-Year Sentence

I was arrested at Dubai International Airport when the customs officials found two cannabis seeds in a bag that wasn't mine. I spent the next three months in jail awaiting trial.

In my homeland South Africa, I had been stabbed twice, shot at, nearly killed in a bomb blast, had five cars stolen and rescued two rape victims so I decided to relocate my family to the Middle East. I had been in Dubai two years when I took a part time job in the Congo rigging cable for the Sheik of Abu Dhabi's new mobile service.

At a party for the crew after the job a few joints were passed around and, unfortunately, unlike Bill Clinton, I did inhale. I have asthma and had only toked once in high school as a result. I do not smoke tobacco, least of all marijuana, but on the day of departure one of my coworkers gave me his leftover weed in a rolled paper envelope. I put it into my bag's side pocket and at the airport in Brazzaville I threw the plant away and cleaned out my bag, or so I thought.

Strip Search and Incarceration in Dubai

When I arrived in Dubai, I cleared all the X-rays and customs points and fetched my bag. As I was making my way to the exit, I was stopped by an Arabic guard, taken to a room and strip searched. At a row of tables he began rummaging around in my bag. To the left of me was an Australian I had worked with.

Suddenly, the customs guard let out a yell and held a speck in the air like a prospector finding gold. He carefully placed a seed on the table and sifted through debris to find another. They found a freshly rolled joint in the Aussie’s wallet. We were taken to an office where we met a Bosnian, an English boy, and some Pakistanis.

After a couple of hours, we were cuffed and hustled into a van with a steel mesh cage in the back. The police were pleasant and reassured us that we would be on our way in a few hours. The other prisoners seemed relaxed; only the Bosnian looked shell-shocked. We were sure we would be on the next plane.

We were taken to the central investigations department (CID) where our contraband was weighed - mine clocked in at 0.44 grams - and given urine and blood tests before being herded to an interrogation room where I was asked, “Are you drug smuggler? A drug addict? Why do you smuggle drugs in Arabia?!"

I obviously denied everything while they smiled, slid a piece of paper to me and asked me to sign. It was in Arabic. I signed, got fingerprinted, and was taken back to the airport departures area where the policemen signed in our bags and suggested we take out a toothbrush.

Crimes in Dubai Warranting Jail Time

I was placed in another cell designed for 8, but with 12 men in it at the Dubai Deportation Centre. I was the only South African in with Russians, Italians and Eastern Europeans. There was no TV, no library and no gym, no windows and the yard was cement, wire mesh and iron bars. The food was terrible, but we were fed three times a day and guards left us alone.

I went to court three times and had no idea what was going on. I was told I would be getting four years, which is the mandatory sentence, no matter the amount of drugs. The crimes of fellow prisoners ranged from attempted murder and rape to smuggling 70 kilos of heroin. The majority were arrested for less than 1 gram of hash, prescription medicines, or cough syrup. A fellow incarcerated for Codeine had taken a muscle relaxant for his back in Prague.

Dubai-bound tourists need to be careful not to kiss in public, take flu medicine, sneak a joint on the beach, or have porn on the laptop. I lost my house, car, job and my sense of humor for 0.04 grams of vegetation.