Dubai: Riskiest place in the world for the unaware traveler

by Abha Malpani on

We wrote here on Gadling about Dubai arresting people for having a spec of marijuana on their shoes while transiting through the airport, and then sentencing them to 4-years in Dubai Central Prison.

I’m currently in Dubai and in the 3 days that I’ve been here I’ve heard of 4 stories of acquaintances in jail for having 0.02 grams of hash on them — all that happened at the airport on “Bush Day“.

I don’t know how they manage to sniff out people with 0.02 grams of hash on them. They say that the customs have some high-tech sensors that pick up on it, but there is no security check of consequence on the way out; your hand bag does get screened, but that’s after passport control and there isn’t any walk-through detector.

There’s a lead story in today’s Guardian that talks about the same and how Dubai has the longest list of banned substances, possession of which leads to imprisonment. The list includes: codeine, poppy seeds and many well-known anti-depressants.
Actually, in theory, people traveling through Dubai who have consumed drugs in another city if stopped and questioned can be asked to give a urine sample for a drug test. If the test is positive, the person can still go to jail. This happened to a close friend of mine who went to Goa on holiday and got stoned every night. They picked him up on a random advertising agency drug raid a few years ago, and he was sentenced to 4 years.

I flew here on a resident visa and because of these nonsensical laws, I was paranoid that in the blood test I have to do to validate my resident visa, they might see traces of marijuana that I might’ve inhaled passively in some of Madrid’s bars. However, looks like they don’t test for drugs in this case.

I understand that Dubai wants to be 100% drug-free but some of the arrests they are making are just ridiculous. I could have been walking in Amsterdam before I got onto my flight to Dubai, and a spec of some illegal substance could have remained on my shoe — that would give me 4 years of jail in Dubai. Come on! Besides, you can’t do anything with a spec of any drug!

By implementing such strict laws, the Dubai authorities have definitely scared tourists and residents alike, but I think they need to be more realistic and reasonable about the arrests they make and the subsequent sentences.

My new favorite show: Locked Up Abroad

by Jeremy Kressmann on

If you haven’t had a chance, I highly recommend you check out my new favorite show, Locked Up Abroad, on the National Geographic Channel. I stumbled across it recently and have not been able to stop watching since. Each episode chronicles the real-life stories of young men and women who have been incarcerated while traveling in countries including Venezuela, Mexico, Nepal and Thailand. As you might guess, the arrests frequently involve drugs, although other incidents include a kidnapping by paramilitaries in Colombia and gold smuggling in Nepal.

Using first-hand interviews, each story unfolds as the protagonist chronicles a series of bad decisions and rationalizations that led to their eventual arrest. What starts in many cases as a free all-expenses-paid holiday, a chance for “adventure” and an opportunity to make a quick buck quickly turns into an all-too-real nightmare. They describe endless days waiting in isolated holding cells, confusing foreign justice systems and getting caught in the crossfire of deadly prison gang wars. Interestingly enough, not all episodes involve prison – in one of my favorite episodes so far, an American sets out on a motorcycle trip across South America, only to be kidnapped at gunpoint by guerillas in Colombia. Not only does he manage to eventually escape, he also refuses to be sent back to the U.S. after his ordeal, choosing to continue his motorcycle trip to its completion. Fascinating television to say the least.

What makes Locked Up Abroad especially compelling for a twenty-something like me with a bad case of wanderlust is that the situations hit very close to home. Granted, I will never be stupid enough to accept an “all-expenses-paid vacation” to South America or try to drive my motorcycle into an area controlled by Colombian guerillas, but I do understand the mindset. Travel can skew our sense of reality, making us crave opportunities to push our boundaries and have truly unique, memorable experiences. That is for most of us, a very healthy instinct – it’s only when it crosses the line between reality and fantasy that it can become horribly serious.

Check out Locked Up Abroad Monday nights at 9pm on the National Geographic Channel.

Google Maps Street View catches what looks like a drug deal in Chicago

by Justin Glow on

That pesky Google van with the camera is up to its old shenanigans again! This time, it snapped what looks like a drug deal in progress on the streets of south Chicago. Of course, it could be something completely innocent; handing money through a car window isn’t illegal. Maybe the gentleman’s grandmother was headed to the grocery store and he wanted her to pick-up some milk and eggs for him? Or maybe he was buying the car. Remember, all suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

[Via NOTCOT]

Three-Day Wait to Score Shrooms in Amsterdam? Maybe

by Justin Glow on

Looking to score ‘shrooms in Amsterdam? You may have to wait three days.

The Netherlands’ policy on drugs distinguishes different substances as hard or soft. Hard drugs, like heroin and cocaine, are illegal, and possession — even for personal use — is a crime that’s fully enforced. Soft drugs, like marijuana and mushrooms, while still technically illegal, are tolerated.

Job Cohen, Amsterdam’s mayor, is looking to make it a bit tougher to score by enacting a three-day waiting period for the purchase of psilocybin mushrooms — just like Wal-Mart does with guns. The effort stems (haha, stems… get it?) from the death of a 17-year-old French girl who jumped off a bridge while totally whacked out on shrooms, man. Buzzkill.

“Under the proposal, potential mushroom buyers would have to show identity papers when visiting one of the ‘smart shops’ where they are sold in the famously tolerant city. They would then be given a card with the date listed on it, as well as fliers with information on the mushrooms,” according to the AFP. ” Three days later, the mushrooms could be collected.”

Not a bad idea, I guess.

Homemade Sub to Central America!

by Iva Skoch on

Ok, so it’s not yet for rent for your next Caribbean vacation, but it’s an interesting way to travel, nonetheless. Authorities were alerted when someone spotted three plastic pipes moving through Pacific waters 103 miles off the coast of Costa Rica this weekend.

They found four men inside a 50-foot, wood-and-fiberglass homemade submarine. Oh, did we mention it had three tons of cocaine in it? It’s not the first time, either. In March, Columbian navy ships stopped a 60-footer. And back in 2000, Columbian authorities found a 100-footer, under construction. Apparently, the subs are used to rendezvous with speedboats that do most of the transport work between drug sellers and buyers.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that the sub had a glass bottom for sealife viewing.