The family of a 21-year-old British woman who was arrested on drug charges shortly after moving to Dubai say cops have the wrong person.
Isabella Daggett moved from Leeds to Dubai after getting a new job in the city, but just weeks after making the 4,500-mile journey, she was thrown into a ‘hell hole’ prison.
Her new position was ‘similar’ to her previous job, where she worked for a businessman who did online recruitment for construction sites across the UK.
The exact charges Isabella faces aren’t known, but the Yorkshire native was detained when authorities made a drug raid and she was in the ‘wrong place’.
Grandmum Heather Smith told the Mail: ‘Bella has been locked up because she was in the wrong company. Wrong place, wrong time. Wrong boyfriend.
‘She has been in prison since March, but we have finally got a court date for next month.
‘She was arrested with a lad, who was not her boyfriend, with whom she was staying because things had fallen through with another house.’
Isabella’s grandmother said shortly before her arrest, she had shared plans to move home to Leeds as she ‘knew something wasn’t right’.
Her family is concerned for her well-being, adding: ‘Women get treated far worse than male prisoners, who get to go outside, they get sports, a PlayStation and a television – Bella has nothing.
‘She hasn’t had a shower for a month, she hasn’t had a change of clothes for three months. She has had nothing.’
Isabella’s mother, Lucinda, has started a GoFundMe page to help ‘bring Bella home’, with a goal of £5,500.
‘We have proof she was not involved in these charges and are determined to fight for her freedom. The hideous conditions she is living in is enough to break any mother’s heart,’ they wrote.
Metro has contacted the Foreign Office for a statement.
The United Arab Emirates has a zero-tolerance policy toward drug offences. Penalties are severe, with life imprisonment or death possible for trafficking.
Even small amounts intended only for personal use can result in significant fines and deportation.
Last week, a British man allegedly caught with £2,000 worth of cocaine in Dubai was sentenced to 40 years in jail.
Another Brit has been languishing behind bars in Dubai for 17 years – despite serving his initial 10-year sentence, courts in the UAE extended it by 20 years in 2018, meaning he won’t be eligible for release until 2038.
Ryan Cornelius was arrested in 2008 during a layover at Dubai Airport and convicted of fraud in a case which has been deemed ‘arbitrary’ by the United Nations.
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