Man jailed for 4 years for possession of 0.003g of Cannabis.Radio 1 DJ recieves same for 2.16g

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Wednesday February 27, 2008 13:44

by Legalise Cannabis Ireland

legalisecannabisireland at hushmail dot com

Ridiculous war on the Cannabis Plant continues,DJ Grooverider also falls victim to prohibition.

Keith Brown, 43, of Smethwick, West Midlands,U.K has been sentenced to four years in priosn in Dubai for "drug trafficking" in one of the most bizarre cannabis related prosecutions in recent years,each prosecution of course being an injustice on teh victim.
Customs officials in Dubai found 0.003g of the drug - an amount that is invisible to the naked eye and weighs less than a grain of sugar - in his shoe.

Grooverider,4 years in jail for 2.16g of Cannabis

Lee Brown,said that his brother Keith, 43, of Smethwick, West Midlands, had suffered a "grave injustice".

Customs officials found 0.003g of the drug - an amount that is invisible to the naked eye and weighs less than a grain of sugar - in his shoe.

The youth development officer was sentenced to four years in prison.

Lee Brown, 57, said: "Keith's distraught and he's angry, he isn't happy.

He said his brother did not know how the drug came to be in the tread of his shoe.

He added: "He could have stepped in it walking along and he got hell for that.

"I think they were hoping to find other things on him. It's hard to put into words how you feel about such a grave injustice."

Meanwhile, BBC Radio 1 DJ Grooverider has been jailed for four years in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for cannabis possession.
The DJ - real name Raymond Bingham - was arrested in November 2007 for flying in for a nightclub gig with 2.16g of cannabis in his luggage.

Bingham denied smuggling drugs, claiming he had left the cannabis in a trouser pocket and forgotten about it.

"Grooverider has paid a very high price for a serious mistake," a spokesman for Radio 1 said.

The 40-year-old has been with the station since 1998 and hosted the weekend drum 'n' bass show with fellow DJ Fabio

Dubai, in the United Arab Emirate (UAE), has a zero-tolerance drugs policy.

The legal charity Fair Trials International has now advised visitors to the UAE to "take extreme caution" and "avoid arrest for 'possession' of a controlled substance".

Chief executive Catherine Wolthuizen said: "We have seen a steep increase in such cases over the last 18 months.

"Customs authorities are using highly sensitive new equipment to conduct extremely thorough searches on travellers and if they find any amount - no matter how minute - it will be enough to attract a mandatory four-year prison sentence."

It follows a recent spate of arrests and imprisonment.

The list of banned substances in the UAE includes many products which are available over-the-counter and off-the-shelf in the UK.

These include medications such as codeine, a common ingredient in pain relief and cold-and-flu medication, and the common baking ingredient, poppy seeds.