Brit dad, 33, sentenced to 40 years in Dubai hellhole prison after ‘being caught with £2000 of cocaine’
16 May 2025, 07:10
A British father has been sentenced to 40 years in a ‘hellhole’ prison after allegedly being found with £2000 of cocaine in a police sting in Dubai.
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Sam Dorman, 33, from Glossop, Derbyshire was arrested after a police sting last week. He was allegedly found with a half gram of the Class A substance.
But police later found what they believe is 28g of the drug at his home in Dubai.
In the UK, that would be worth around £2,000. But in the UAE, which has a strict zero-tolerance policy on drugs, it is valued at up to three times as much.
The father-of-one was arrested last week and has already been jailed for 40 years on Monday, the Sun reports.
He is now being held at Al-Awir Central Prison, on the outskirts of Dubai, which is known for its filthy conditions and violent inmates.
“He’s got a young daughter in the UK, so to be serving 40 years is really sad,” A source told the newspaper.
“He won’t be out till he’s in his 70s.
"The prison’s a hellhole and Sam’s family are understandably distraught.
“When they spoke to him, it looked like he’d taken a battering. I just hope someone can help him.The barber and tattoo artist reportedly moved to the Emirate to start a business.
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But he was apparently arrested after selling cocaine to a customer, which is how the police are thought to have found him.
The source added: “He got in with the wrong crowd. Sam apparently sold coke to a customer who was pulled over and arrested by police.
“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: “We are supporting a British man detained in Dubai.”
