Drug trafficking

I remember flying into Bali many years ago and seeing the sign that anyone caught carrying drugs would be liable to the death penalty. It appears that the penalties are being applied in Dubai rather stringently, having read this from Jammie Wearing Fool I am even less likely to take a plane that transits in Dubai. I don't take drugs but I do eat rolls with poppy seeds on top.

"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."


"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."


"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."



Before anyone jumps to the wrong conclusion, this is nothing to do with Sharia law as according to this US site "Sharia or Islamic courts work alongside the civil and criminal courts in the UAE. The Sharia court is the Islamic court in the UAE and is primarily responsible for civil matters between Muslims. Non-Muslims will not appear before a Sharia court in any matter. Sharia courts have the exclusive jurisdiction to hear family disputes, including matters involving divorce, inheritances,
child custody, child abuse and guardianship of minors. In the absence of any particular provision in the UAE codified law, the Islamic principles of Sharia as found in the Islamic Sharia textbooks are applied."