Billy Hood, 25, received a harsh sentence.
A year and a half ago, an amateur football manager moved from England to Dubai in hopes of a better future. But the real Billy Hood drama began at that moment.
A former football player and current DT was sentenced in the first instance to 25 years in prison for drug trafficking. Although the sentence was subsequently reduced to 10, the family cannot believe what the young athlete is going through. What did he have? According to the young Brit, that’s right four bottles of medicinal cannabis oil, which a friend had left in his car.
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil vaping is UK legal and has become extremely popular, often used to relieve pain, anxiety or stress. But there is zero tolerance in the UAE.
Billy Hood, with his relatives in the images of the files.
Billy Hood said he was forced to confess a false statement written in Arabic by the investigators who arrested him.
The 25-year-old from Kensington, West London, said he was unaware of the existence of 4 bottles of CBD oil and a vaporizer in his vehicle. Hood He claimed he took a friend from London to Dubai airport when he was arrested by local police during a routine check.
He was with another friend in his apartment on January 31, 2021 when Dubai police pointed a taser in his face as he was walking to his car.
The agents handcuffed Hood and threatened to electrocute him if he refused to cooperate. they then asked to see the drug, but Hood claimed he had no idea what they were talking about.
The young Briton was given 25 years.
Hood, a self-described anti-drug fitness fanatic, thought he had the wrong man and volunteered to search his property and body tests.
Police found a few thousand pounds in cash at his home that his new employer paid him in cash as his bank account was opened, Hood said. The agents also arrested Hood’s friend when they found him in the apartment.
Mr. Hood allowed the police to search his company car and gave him a urine sample as he believed he had nothing to hide. Hood was detained under the UAE’s strict drug laws.
Hood was detained under the UAE’s strict drug laws.
He was reportedly transferred to Al Barsha Police Station and held in solitary confinement for 14 days with no contact with the outside world. Hood was prosecuted and sentenced to 25 years for trafficking, supply and possession and was detained at the police station for nine months. Some time later, on December 1, 2021, his sentence was reduced to 10 years.
After initially refusing to sign a confession on solicitation to investigate CID when he was taken to a holding cell, Hood finally gave in after four days of pressure.
Hood, who played for semi-pros Kensington and Ealing Borough FC, said he told police when asked about the bottles: “As far as I know, this is normal vape oil.”
The 24-year-old was sentenced to a harsh sentence.
When he first refused to sign the document and asked for an English translation, the chief officer laughed and said, “If you don’t sign, you’ll never get out of here,” his legal team said.
The officers tested the urine sample and it came back negative, but after four days of detention, Hood agreed to sign the statement without knowing what it said.
In a statement to his lawyers, detained in Dubai, Mr. Hood said: “I had just moved to a new home in Dubai and a friend of mine came to see my new home. I ordered a food delivery and then went to my car to get a second charger to use when suddenly I was approached by the police. “
“They jumped to arrest me, they handcuffed me. An agent jumped out and pointed a taser at me, threatening to use it if I didn’t cooperate. They asked me to show them where the drugs are. I was shocked, scared and confused. “
“I told them I didn’t know or was in possession of drugs or substances. They wanted to search my car and then my apartment and they found nothing. The next night they took me to the Al Barsha Police Station and kept me in a solitary cell for 14 days without hygiene products. I had no contact with the outside world. “
“I teach football six to seven days a week. I always work with children and in schools all over Dubai. From the age of 16 I have been playing football professionally for more than two years. I have always had zero tolerance for any illegal drug or substance. “
“For me, being accused of promoting and selling drugs in a country that shares my beliefs and values is very disturbing as it affects my future. One of the main reasons I moved to the UAE was to pursue my coaching career. I’ve spent over six years collecting my coaching badges and would never let anything like drugs ruin it. “
Hood’s mother, Breda, described the trauma the family has suffered over the past nine months and asked Sheikh Mohammed, vice president and prime minister of the UAE, to intervene in the case.
But for now, there doesn’t seem to be a way out anytime soon.
Source: Clarin
