Don't Smoke Before Flying to Dubai

A British man faces two years in Dubai jail after testing positive for cannabis he smoked in the UK before flying out for a new job. Connor Clements, 24, from Everton, Liverpool, flew out to the Middle Eastern country to turn his life around after landing a job as a waiter.

But Connor, who insists he never smoked cannabis in Dubai, was detained after a medical test showed he had the drug in his system.

And because of the UAE’s zero tolerance for drugs, the presence of cannabis in the blood stream is classed as possession.

Connor, who claims he smoke the drug in the UK before travelling to Dubai, was convicted and sentenced to two years behind bars, reports The Liverpool Echo.

The distraught Brit says he was convicted on the basis of a medical test which took around one minute and is now finds himself in a “living nightmare.”

After his arrest, Connor found himself sleeping on the floor of a prison cell which he shared with 24 other inmates who did not speak English.

He said: “They are saying I smoked it here – but I did [it] back home, they have got no proof… I used to smoke a lot back home.

“I came here to stop everything. It was a chance for me to change my life. But it’s been nothing but a nightmare.

“I was in a rut. My sister lives here and I had an opportunity to change my life and it’s been nothing but a living nightmare… I haven’t committed a crime in the UAE.

“I was coming over here to totally change my life around. I had a new job and met loads of nice people.”

After spending several weeks in the “atrocious” prison, Connor has been bailed ahead an appeal hearing which will take place just before Christmas.

But the 24-year-old’s passport has been confiscated and he fears he will be spending the two years in jail.

A Foreign Office spokesperson: “Our staff in the UAE are assisting a British man following his detention in Dubai.

“We have visited him on several occasions, made calls to the prosecutor’s office to get updates on his case, and are in regular contact with his family.”

Connor is one of more than 200 UK citizens who have been arrested in the UAE this year.