A British football coach has been sentenced to 25 years in prison in Dubai after four bottles of vape liquid containing cannabis oil were found in his car. Billy Hood, 24, from Notting Hill, west London, was arrested on 31 January shortly after moving to the country.
Mr Hood, who played semi-professional football for Kensington and Ealing Borough FC, claims he was forced to sign a confession written in Arabic despite not speaking the language. He told campaign group Detained in Dubai that police unexpectedly turned up and demanded to search his home and car, and that he was kept in an isolation cell for 14 days without hygiene products.
Mr Hood claimed the oil was left by a friend who had visited from England two weeks earlier. However, this month he was convicted of drug trafficking with intent to supply. Vaping cannabidiol (CBD) oil is legal in the UK but the United Arab Emirates has a zero-tolerance policy for drug offences.
Radha Stirling, chief executive of Detained in Dubai, which is representing the family, said forced and coerced confessions are commonplace in Dubai. Sentences for drug trafficking can include the death penalty, and possession of even small amounts of illegal drugs can lead to a minimum four-year jail sentence.
In a statement, Mr Hood said he has always had a zero-tolerance approach to drugs and that being accused of promoting and selling drugs in a country with the same beliefs is very upsetting. His family is appealing to the UK and UAE governments to intervene. His mother Breda said she has been crying and feeling helpless, imagining what her son is going through.
