Dubai jails Grooverider on drugs charges.. for 4 years!!

[Jonny Dubbs]

Dubai jails Grooverider on drugs charge
Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:07pm GMT

By Lin Noueihed

DUBAI (Reuters) - A Dubai court sentenced DJ Raymond Bingham, better known as Grooverider, to four years in jail on Tuesday, three months after he was caught in possession of marijuana.

The 40-year-old disc jockey was arrested at Dubai airport on November 23 when customs officials found a transparent bag containing 2.16 grams of marijuana in his luggage.

Grooverider, who co-hosts a weekly "drum and bass" music show on BBC Radio 1 with fellow DJ Fabio, was not in court for sentencing. He remains in custody and has two weeks to appeal.

Dubai, one of the seven emirates comprising the United Arab Emirates federation, has a zero tolerance drug policy.

Under UAE law, drug trafficking carries a sentence ranging from four years jail to death, though executions are rare. Foreigners convicted of bringing drugs into the Gulf trade and tourism hub normally face jail terms followed by deportation.

Bingham began his career on pirate radio and was key to the development of "drum and bass" dance music in the 1990s.

The Briton, who flew to Dubai to play a set at a top nightclub, had previously said he was not aware the drug was in his luggage and had no intention of smuggling into Dubai.

"This is the minimum that you get by law but we will do our best, especially since he confessed and has cooperated with the authorities," defence lawyer Mohammed Suweidi told Reuters.

Dubai, the Gulf's trade and tourism hub, is home to a large expatriate community and is known as the glitzy nightlife capital of a conservative Muslim region.

The head of Fair Trials International, a charity that works for fair trials of people held outside their home country, said the UAE authorities were using highly sensitive equipment capable of detecting minute traces of drugs on visitors.

"We have seen a steep increase in such cases over the last 18 months," Fair Trials International Chief Executive Catherine Wolthuizen said.

"With the UAE becoming one of the most popular tourist and transit destinations in the world ... travellers need to know the risks they face if they are not completely clean," she said.

High-profile drugs cases in the UAE have included U.S. music producer Dallas Austin, who has worked with Michael Jackson and Madonna. He was given a four year jail term for possessing cocaine and other drugs.

One of Bingham's lawyers, Mohammad al-Reda, helped Austin secure a pardon for in 2006.

[rawb]

GROOVEROBBER WOULD NEVER DO THIS, ILL TELL YOU WHAT o

[KrisisID]

WTF, nooooooooo. this sucks.

[Revolver]

what a moron....

[KrisisID]

^^
I guess you're right, he should have known the laws before travelling there.

But four years is quite a bit for a successful dj like him, he would be out of touch when he gets out, no?

[Revolver]

Originally Posted by KrisisID

^^
I guess you're right, he should have known the laws before travelling there.

But four years is quite a bit for a successful dj like him, he would be out of touch when he gets out, no?

like hes not out of touch now?

lulsz.....

[decypher]

oh man, everyone knows you don't f around in dubai with drugs. They can even sentence you due to micro traces on a card or anything.

[pstylez]

Originally Posted by decypher

oh man, everyone knows you don't f around in dubai with drugs. They can even sentence you due to micro traces on a card or anything.

Carrying around any drug in the UAE is suicide. He should have been more cognizant. You don't fuck around in the Middle East, them mothafuckas be crazy like a mothafuka. I know, I lived down there for a few months, that area is COMPLETELY different than western culture.

[thebobman]

Originally Posted by decypher

oh man, everyone knows you don't f around in dubai with drugs. They can even sentence you due to micro traces on a card or anything.

At a minimum don't fuck around... AT THE FRIGGING AIRPORT! WHADAFACK?

[-evil-duerr-]

uh oh sphagettios for toombraider

[Revolver]

Originally Posted by pstylez

Carrying around any drug in the UAE is suicide. He should have been more cognizant. You don't fuck around in the Middle East, them mothafuckas be crazy like a mothafuka. I know, I lived down there for a few months, that area is COMPLETELY different than western culture.

really?

dude that sounds cool....that you lived there.

tell more.

i dig expatriate type stuff

[sNyx]

Basically, wash twice before entering the middle east.

Man Thrown In Jail In Dubai, For Having 0.003 Grams Of Cannabis Stuck To His Shoe

A Briton, traveling through Dubai on his way to England, was arrested and sentenced to 4 years in jail, for having a microscopic piece of cannabis stuck to the bottom of one of his shoes. Keith Brown by name, this guy was stopped while he was walking through the Dubai airport and searched with high tech equipment.

The search revealed a piece of cannabis on the bottom of one of his shoes, too small to be seen with the naked eye, weighing only 0.003 grams.

With their zero-tolerance policy when it comes to drugs, UAE did this kind of thing before. Just to show you how insane this is, another man was thrown in jail in the past for having in his possession three poppy seeds, left from a lunch he had before he left England.

Another man that had in his pocket a similar speck of cannabis last November is still waiting for his sentence.

[TrixX]

note to self: when travelling to dubai buy new EVERYTHING

[decypher]

Originally Posted by pstylez

Carrying around any drug in the UAE is suicide. He should have been more cognizant. You don't fuck around in the Middle East, them mothafuckas be crazy like a mothafuka. I know, I lived down there for a few months, that area is COMPLETELY different than western culture.

It's 82% expatriates in the UAE yeh?

[DefJef]

leave no gribblies unsmoked!

[jenai]

Originally Posted by pstylez

Carrying around any drug in the UAE is suicide. He should have been more cognizant. You don't fuck around in the Middle East, them mothafuckas be crazy like a mothafuka. I know, I lived down there for a few months, that area is COMPLETELY different than western culture.

dubai is the bomb for teetotalers.

plus the partying behind closed doors is incredible.

so i've heard.