A British man faces 25 years in prison in Dubai after taking money ‘to go shopping’ from an alleged drug dealer.
Self-styled millionaire Waseem Khan, 22, spent more than two months with 200 prisoners in a ‘hell hole’ cell at the infamous Al Barsha prison before being released on bail following his arrest.
The crypto investor – who was forced to pay £30,000 in legal fees – was arrested on September 4 when police raided his luxury apartment.
Waseem said this happened after he transferred £4,500 to a friend in Britain, who then arranged for a man in Dubai to give him about 15,000 dirhams in return.
But hours after the person, whom he did not know, brought the money to his property, police burst through his door and handcuffed him.
He was later charged with taking and supplying drugs and using the proceeds of crime, charges he strongly denies
Waseem now faces up to 25 years behind bars – the maximum penalty for drug trafficking in Dubai – and is banned from leaving the state pending his next court appearance.
Speaking about his time in prison before his release on bail, he said: ‘It was like a hellish prison. It was something you see in movies.
Waseem Khan, 22, could face 25 years in prison in Dubai after allegedly taking money from drug dealer
He has been accused of taking and supplying drugs and using the proceeds of crime, charges he strongly denies.
Waseem, originally from Leeds, moved to Dubai a few years ago
“There were murderers, rapists and drug lords – people who had committed nasty, nasty crimes. There were some of the worst people in the world there.
‘Every day there were people bullying you. Living conditions were terrible.
“If there were small problems, you would have to fight about them. There were a number of times where I was almost in a physical fight with people.
‘There was terrible food, cold showers, the toilets were moldy, it just smelled. The phones were terrible and the prison guards were terrible too.
“I didn’t even think I was going to get out, just because of the bad luck 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 booming, low-tax economy that thousands of Britons have flocked to in recent years.
But after arranging through a friend for the man to bring him 15,000 dirhams so he could “go shopping”, he said police burst through his door.
The crypto investor was arrested on September 4 when police raided his luxury apartment
Waseem has had to pay £30,000 in legal costs
Waseem said he was forced to sell assets, including his expensive cars, to quickly get the money he needed for his legal representation.
Waseem said, “I went to the gym around 7pm and did a two-hour session, and I just came home and cooked some food.
“And when I was about to eat, security knocked on my door.
‘I obviously thought he wanted to talk to me, so I opened the door and the next minute six police officers came in and hit me on the head.
“They handcuffed me without even saying a word, saying, ‘We know everything’ and ‘You’re wrong and we’re right’ and ‘You’re under arrest.’
‘It was scary because I obviously didn’t do anything wrong. I thought, ‘Why am I being treated like a criminal?’
“At the same time, one of the officers said, ‘You get the death penalty, you get 25 years.’ And they just laughed and joked about it.”
Waseem claimed that when he was taken to the police station, he was initially told by a senior officer that he was ‘innocent’ and would be released.
But he was then led to a mass detention cell, where he spent the next two and a half months waiting for a bail hearing so he could be released.
He continued, “When I was arrested, they asked me all the questions.
‘One of the officers, the head of the police who arrested me, said: ‘Don’t worry, you will be released in an hour, we know you are innocent, you had nothing to do with this.’
“So of course I took his word for it and he said, ‘They’ll just take your fingerprints, just go through this door and you’ll be out in an hour.’
‘I went through this door and found myself in a whole prison cell with 200 people sleeping on the floor and giving off a bad smell.
“I said, ‘What is this, you said I was going to get out,’ and they just closed the door behind me and left me there.”
Waseem said he was forced to sell assets, including his expensive cars, to quickly get the money he needed for his legal representation.
He is also not allowed to leave Dubai pending his next court appearance.
And while his lawyers believe he has a good chance of defending himself, Waseem said he worries about the balance of the local legal system.
He said: ‘I’m happy to be released on bail, but I’m also very worried because my lawyers have said, ‘This is Dubai, anything can happen here.’
“They don’t want to give me false hope.”
“I had to move somewhere else because I couldn’t stay in the same place because of paranoia.”
MailOnline has contacted 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 accused of having 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 about his holiday romance from her ‘strict’ mother.
The couple had “a great time together” during their holiday in August, meeting in secret because she was worried she wouldn’t be able to tell her mother she was seeing a boy. They hoped to continue their relationship when they returned to London.
But as the girl’s furious mother later discovered and told police in Dubai about the relationship when they returned to Britain, Marcus now faces 20 years in a grueling Dubai prison.
‘When she left, I couldn’t wait to see her when I got home. Then suddenly the police knocked on the door of our hotel,” Marcus told the British aid organization Detained in Dubai.
‘They said they were taking me for questioning, but wouldn’t tell me why. I couldn’t imagine what for. I was scared and my parents were terrified.”
Dubai only recently reformed its laws on sex outside marriage for tourists, but maintains a strict Islamic legal system and has no hard ruling on the age of consent.
According to local law, a child is defined as a person under the age of 18. The relationship is said to be legal in Great Britain and the girl has now turned 18.