A British father caught with cocaine in Dubai has been sentenced to 40 years in prison and locked up in a “hellhole” jail.
Sam Dorman, a 33-year-old father-of-one from Derbyshire, was arrested in the UAE with a half a gram of the class A drug, according to reports, and 28 grams of cocaine were then recovered from his home.
Dubai has a zero tolerance approach to drug enforcement, and the cocaine is believed to be worth around £6,000 on the streets of the state.
Dorman, a barber and tattoo artist, was arrested last week and sentenced to 40 years on Monday.
He is now being held at the Al-Awir Central prison, which has been dubbed a “hellhole” and is notorious for its squalid conditions and violence.
It is the same jail where British teenager Marcus Fakana was held last year after being accused of having sex on holiday with another British national.
Dorman’s family are said to be “understandably distraught”, and he has a young daughter back in the UK.
"The prison’s a hellhole”, The Sun reported, from a family source.
“When they spoke to him, it looked like he’d taken a battering. I just hope someone can help him.”
It is said he “got in with the wrong crowd” after moving to Dubai in 2022 to start a business.
“Sam apparently sold coke to a customer who was pulled over and arrested by police”, reported the paper.
“They took his phone and messaged Sam pretending to be the buyer and asked for more. Sam stupidly went and the police were waiting. At this point he was nabbed.”
The Foreign Office said it is offering support to a British man detained in Dubai.
