Woman faces rap for codeine

2005-04-28 18:48

Dubai - A British woman has been detained in Dubai since arriving on a visit last month after codeine was found in her system and might be sentenced on Saturday, said a British embassy spokeswoman said Thursday.

The spokesperson denied a newspaper report that Tracy Wilkinson, who is in her forties, already had been handed a four-year jail term in the Gulf emirate, a popular destination for British tourists.

"The latest information we have from her lawyer is that she has not been sentenced and her case will be heard on Saturday," said the spokesperson, asking not to be named.

She said Wilkinson had been detained after landing at Dubai airport in early March and "traces of codeine were found in her system", but would not give further details of the case.

The English-language daily Gulf News reported on Thursday that Wilkinson had been sentenced to four years in jail after she was "found to have taken the banned drug codeine".

Did not have a prescription

It is a narcotic analgesic which is on the illegal drug list in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

It said Wilkinson, who did not have a prescription, would appeal against her sentence.

The embassy spokeswoman said consular officials had been allowed "full access" to Wilkinson and visited her four times.

About half a million Britons visit Dubai every year, and about 150 000 more come to other parts of the seven-strong UAE, of which the bustling Gulf emirate is a member.

Roughly 100 000 Britons live in the UAE, most of them in Dubai, according to the British embassy.

- AFP