A British football coach has been sentenced to 25 years in prison in Dubai after police found four bottles of CBD vape liquid in his car. Billy Hood, 24, from Kensington, was convicted of trafficking, selling and possessing drugs, despite claiming he was forced to confess in Arabic, a language he does not speak.
The vape oils, discovered on 31 January, contained CBD, which is legal in the UK but illegal in the UAE due to trace amounts of THC. Hood, who played semi-professionally for Kensington and Ealing Borough FC, said he was unaware the oils were in his boot and believed they were left by a friend.
Hood's family and the campaign group Detained in Dubai are appealing the conviction. His mother, Breda, described the ordeal as 'the worst stress I have ever been through' and criticised the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for lack of assistance. A GoFundMe page has raised over £11,000 for legal fees.
Radha Stirling, chief executive of Detained in Dubai, warned that the UAE's zero-tolerance drug policy can lead to wrongful arrests and coerced confessions. The UAE embassy has been approached for comment.
