By Daily Mail (World News) | Created at 2024-11-27 10:25:17 | Updated at 2024-11-27 12:58:06
2 hours ago
A British man faces 25 years in a Dubai prison after he accepted money 'to go shopping' from an alleged drug dealer.
Self-proclaimed millionaire Waseem Khan, 22, spent over two months locked in a 'hell hole' cell with 200 inmates at the notorious Al Barsha jail before he was released on bail following his arrest.
The crypto investor - who has been forced to shell out £30,000 on legal fees - was detained on September 4 when police raided his luxury apartment.
Waseem said this transpired after he transferred £4,500 to a friend in Britain, who then arranged for a man to give him around 15,000 dirhams in Dubai in return.
But hours after the person, who he did not know, brought the cash to his property, police came crashing through his door and put him in handcuffs.
He was later charged with taking and supplying drugs and using the proceeds of crime, which he vehemently denies
Waseem could now spend up to 25 years behind bars - the maximum sentence for drug dealing in Dubai - and is banned from leaving the state while awaiting his next court appearance.
Speaking about his time in jail before his release on bail, he said: 'It was like a hellhole prison. It was the sort of thing you see in the movies.
22-year-old Waseem Khan faces possible 25 years in Dubai jail after allegedly accepting money from a drug dealer
He has been charged with taking and supplying drugs and using the proceeds of crime , which he vehemently denies
Waseem, originally from Leeds, moved to Dubai a few years ago
'There were killers, rapists and drug lords - people who had done nasty, nasty crimes. There were some of the worst people in the world in there.
'Every day there were people picking on you. The living conditions were horrible.
'If there were small problems, you'd have to fight over it. There were a number of times were I came close to nearly physically fighting people.
'There was awful food, cold showers, the toilets were mouldy, it just stunk.. The phones were awful and the prison guards were awful as well.
'I didn't even think I'd get out, just because of how bad my luck was in there.'
Waseem, originally from Leeds, moved to Dubai a few years ago where he bought a fourth-floor apartment in the exclusive Jumeirah Village Circle.
And like many expats, he enjoyed the benefits of the thriving low-tax economy, which thousands of Brits have flocked to in recent years.
But after he arranged through a pal for the man to bring him 15,000 dirhams so he could 'go shopping', he said police had barrelled through his door.
The crypto investor was detained on September 4 when police raided his luxury apartment
Waseem has had to shell out £30,000 on legal fees
Waseem said he had been forced to sell assets, including his expensive cars, to stump up the cash he needed rapidly for his legal representation
Waseem said: 'I went to the gym around 7pm and I did a two-hour session, and I just came home and cooked some food.
'And as I was about to eat, the security knocked on my door.
'Obviously I thought he wanted to speak to me, so I opened the door and the next minute, six police just came through the door, which smacked me on my head.
'They've handcuffed me without even saying a word, and they said, 'We know everything' and 'You're wrong and we're right' and 'You're under arrest'.
'It was frightening because, obviously, I didn't do anything wrong. I was thinking, 'Why am I being treated like a criminal'.
'At the same time, one of the officers said, 'You're going to get the death penalty, you're going to get 25 years.' And they were just laughing and joking about it.'
Waseem claimed that when he was taken to the police station, he was originally told by a senior officer that he was 'innocent' and would be let out.
But he was then led into a mass detention cell, where he spent the next two and half months waiting for a bail hearing so he could be released.
He went on: 'When I was arrested, they asked me all the questions.
'One of the officers, the head of CID who arrested me, said, 'Don't worry, you're going to be released in one hour, we know you're innocent, you had nothing to do with this'.
'So obviously I took his word and he said, 'They're just going to take your fingerprints, just go through this door and you'll be out in one hour.'
'I went through this door and I ended up in a whole prison cell with 200 people sleeping on the floor and just a bad smell.
'I said, 'What's this, you said I was going to get out,' and they just closed the door behind me and left me in there.'
Waseem said he had been forced to sell assets, including his expensive cars, to stump up the cash he needed rapidly for his legal representation.
He has also been banned from leaving Dubai while awaiting his next court appearances.
And although his lawyers believe he has a good chance of defending himself, Waseem said he was worried about the even-handedness of the local court system.
He said: 'I am happy that I've been released on bail, but I'm also really worried as my lawyers have said, 'This is Dubai, anything can happen here'.
'They don't want to give me false hope.'
'I've had to move elsewhere because I can't stay in the same place because of paranoia.'
MailOnline has reached out to the British Embassy in Dubai for comment.
It comes as an 18-year-old British tourist faces 20 years in prison in Dubai after being charged with whaving sex with a then-17-year-old during a family holiday.
Marcus Fakana, from Tottenham, London, was held in a notorious UAE prison for days after police heard of his holiday romance from her 'strict' mother.
The couple 'had a wonderful time together' on holiday in August, meeting up in secret as she feared she could not tell her mother she was seeing a boy. They hoped to continue their relationship when they were back in London.
But as the girl's furious mother later found out and told police in Dubai about the relationship when they returned to the UK, Marcus now faces two decades inside a gruelling Dubai prison.
'When she left, I couldn't wait to see her again when I got home. Then suddenly, police knocked on our hotel door,' Marcus told British-based aid organisation Detained in Dubai.
'They said they were taking me in for questioning but wouldn't tell me why. I couldn't imagine what for. I was frightened and my parents were terrified.'
Dubai has only recently reformed its laws on sex outside of marriage for tourists, but upholds a strict Islamic legal system, and has no firm ruling on age of consent.
Under local law, a child is defined as a person under 18 years of age. The relationship would be legal in the UK, and the girl has since turned 18.
