DJ Grooverider sentenced 4 years for porn and weed

mumbosauce

I doubt many people on this forum have been following this but one of the OG DrumnBass DJs, Grooverider also a Radio 1 DJ was just sentenced to 4 years in prison for weed and porn possession in Dubai.Dubai ain't no joke and Grooverider is an idiot but I feel bad for dude.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3395661.eceDubai has some serious drug laws. Poppy seed bagels can get you jacked up and in jail. If your urine shows drugs when you enter the country you can get jacked up by their laws.

Aser

damn!

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/artic...shoe/article.do

pjl2000xl

I read something recently about dubai and its insane drug laws. Some dude got pinched for having .001 of herb on his shoe. A microscopic spec of cannabis got dude sentenced for 2 years. That is so wack. Some other dude got nailed for having some weed in lint in his pants.

luck

I read something recently about dubai and its insane drug laws. Some dude got pinched for having .001 of herb on his shoe. A microscopic spec of cannabis got dude sentenced for 2 years. That is so wack. Some other dude got nailed for having some weed in lint in his pants.

It was actually Dubai's minimum sentence of 4 years for the .001. This human rights violation (yessir) would draw international ire if:
1) People weren't such massive public hypocrites regarding drug use
2) Dubai's big money wasn't involved

JoeMojo

That's insane - since almost all hard currency contains trace amounts of cocaine, that means that anyone with a $20 bill could get jailed for somebody else's year-old line.

waxjunky

I wonder if people typically serve their full sentence in Dubai. Something tells me yes.

luck

Grooverider, who made his name DJing at illegal warehouse parties, is recognised as a pioneer of the abrasive style of dance music known as drum and bass.

Abrasive?

I caught that. Sheesh. Boom! The story explodes.

luck

I wonder if people typically serve their full sentence in Dubai. Something tells me yes.

You better believe it. Unless foreign diplomats are there to intervene.

ost

That's really sad!! But those guys are lucky they're being treated "specially" cuz they could face the death penalty.....damn those countries are f*cked up.

Almond

Harsh laws.

4 years for microscopic weed, yet only 15 for rape in that recent case with the French tourist.

m_dejean

The exact same thing happened to Dallas Austin a couple of years ago. Lucky for him, some music biz heavies and politicians/ambassadors helped him get a pardon. I'm never going to Dubai. Weed lint pervades my wardrobe.

DJ_Obelix

hes also been sacked from bbc radio 1 from what i heard.
in dubai having drugs in your blood stream counts as possession

mumbosauce

The exact same thing happened to Dallas Austin a couple of years ago. Lucky for him, some music biz heavies and politicians/ambassadors helped him get a pardon. I'm never going to Dubai. Weed lint pervades my wardrobe.

Yeah whats even crazier was with Dallas Austin it was Cocaine if I remember correctly and he got off with a slap.

And the other poster who mentioned about drugs being in your system before you step in the country, counts as possession, that is just scary.

DjArcadian

Is alcohol legal there?

Unknown

I'm never going to Dubai. Weed lint pervades my wardrobe.

DB_Cooper

I'm never going to Dubai. Not on principle or anything, just???I mean, seriously???who goes to Dubai? You an oil magnate or some shit?

djdaze

Seriously, fuck that country, they send you to prison for debt too

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20070610/debts-dubai-prison.htm

verb606

I'm never going to Dubai. Not on principle or anything, just???I mean, seriously???who goes to Dubai? You an oil magnate or some shit?

I've always said that I would only going to Dubai if I was working there, in any capacity. My impression of the place is that money blows down the street like tumbleweeds. I would gladly DJ at some wack top 40 club for a couple weeks and make bank and then break out.

The drug policy is weird, though. I thought Dubai was the Las Vegas of Eurasia (there's a better term than that out there, I know) so I figured they'd be sort of lax on that type of stuff.

Or is it that all the power brokers are allowed to do/smoke/fuck whatever they want, but they bust the riff raff to keep the place clean?

mannybolone

Dubai was the Las Vegas of Eurasia

It is in terms of attracting high rollers and insane hotel developments (not to mention private islands). And frankly, the fact that they give Michael Jackson refuge is kind of ass backwards given their moral strictness...but their drug policies are in line with most Muslim countries. I remember landing in Malaysia and very prominently, signs read: "Drug smuggling is a capital offense" or something close to that.

Jimster

My neighbor was there the other month. He said there are places where you can be served a drink, and they are cool with that because it's public. But you would never be out on the street with it, flashing it under the local's noses.

I guess if you are *concealing* stuff about yourself, they suspect the worst and throw the book at you. And then of course, there is the race issue to consider...

I recall hella strict muslims at Uni who wouldn't play pool in the student union because there was a bar in the room. Same guys would do coke at the weekend but apparently there was nothing in The Book about that so it was OK.

Pffft!

DJ_NevilleC

I remember going to a casino in Cairo a few years back and meeting a bunch of Gulf Arabs who come to Egypt regularly to gamble and drink because they can't do that at home. They bought us many rounds of drinks. Alot of them went to college in the States and are now back home working for dad's company and wishing they were still in Madison or Ann Arbor.
Another funny thing about the Egyptian casinos was that they were not open to Egyptians, only to foreigners.

davesrecords

Dubai was the Las Vegas of Eurasia

It is in terms of attracting high rollers and insane hotel developments (not to mention private islands). And frankly, the fact that they give Michael Jackson refuge is kind of ass backwards given their moral strictness...but their drug policies are in line with most Muslim countries. I remember landing in Malaysia and very prominently, signs read: "Drug smuggling is a capital offense" or something close to that.

in the taipei airport there is a big sign as you come in that says "drug trafficking is punishable by death"

harsh. supposedly drugs are plenty in taiwan...just makes you wonder who is smuggling it.

luck

Seriously, fuck that country, they send you to prison for debt too

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20070610/debts-dubai-prison.htm

That's funny, because I read the following article in the Journal less than a week ago:

Dubai's Debt Cloud
By CHIP CUMMINS
December 14, 2007; Page C1[/b]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Dubai is on a spending spree, and financial analysts are starting to wonder about the amount of debt the city-state is racking up.

Its oil production is dwindling, and its debt load is four times the average among other Persian Gulf states. Credit-rating companies are asking for more information to determine how sound the government really is.

"From published documents, it is difficult to get a picture of the complete financial situation," said Standard & Poor's analyst Farouk Soussa. "The transparency isn't good."

One of seven emirates making up the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, like other Middle East governments, has been on a deal-making binge. Companies owned or backed by the government have signed agreements or made plays for billions of dollars in assets this year, including stakes in American and European stock exchanges, a Las Vegas casino operator and, most recently, a chunk of Sony Corp. Part of Dubai's deal-making is financed by debt.

At the same time, other Dubai entities have launched expansion plans relying on public borrowing. Nakheel, a government-controlled company building a giant, palm-tree-shaped island development, placed $750 million in bonds this month to finance its plans. Government-owned Jebel Ali Free Zone recently listed 7.5 billion dirham ($2 billion) of bonds.



Demanding Dubai Data[/b]

Moody's Investors Service, Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services are handing out credit ratings to many of these government-backed companies, and they are starting to ask for more disclosure from the emirate, which they assume will bail out the companies if they get into a jam.

"The rapid economic development of Dubai is certainly being accompanied by increased levels of leverage from companies that are closely associated with the government," said Tristan Cooper, a Moody's analyst in Dubai. "Without a clearer picture of the overall financial position of the central government and the broader public sector," investors could become more cautious.

The situation highlights a broader issue. Many of the world's governments and the companies they control are notoriously opaque, especially in the Middle East. But big regional investors like Qatar, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi (also part of the U.A.E.) have big hydrocarbon reserves to back up their deals. Production can be relatively easy to estimate from public figures. Dubai's reserves have been shrinking for years.

Dubai also has taken a more-complex approach to investing overseas. Most other deal-making countries have used massive investment authorities to pursue their deals. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, for instance, bought a $7.5 billion stake in Citigroup Inc. last month. In contrast, Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has entrusted a cadre of lieutenants to run his own and his government's business interests. They often compete with one another and hunt for deals independently, but they all ultimately answer to Sheik Mohammed.

The government association has helped a handful of Dubai corporate entities get high credit ratings. The assumption is that Sheikh Mohammed or his government will come to the rescue in a pinch. And if Dubai gets overextended, analysts expect the emirate's much-richer cousins in Abu Dhabi will lend a hand. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the U.A.E., and its ruler is the country's president. Sheikh Mohammed is prime minister.

Moody's recently gave one of its highest corporate ratings, A1, to government-controlled DIFC Investments LLC. DIFC owns a stake in Borse Dubai, the holding company that recently agreed to acquire Nordic exchange OMX AB for some $4.9 billion. The complex deal aims to eventually give Dubai a stake of nearly 20% in Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. In a ratings note, Moody's said the rating reflects "the credit support the Government of Dubai is likely to provide in a distress situation."

This year, S&P rated Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group LLC single-A-plus, citing "strong implicit support from the Emirate of Dubai." Sheikh Mohammed owns the entity's parent, Dubai Holding. A Dubai Holding subsidiary recently bought the Sony stake.

Mystery Investments?[/b]

The trouble with these corporate ratings is that without more disclosure, it is difficult to evaluate the financial soundness of these entities and the government backing them. As its oil supplies dwindle, Dubai has diversified its economy into financial services, tourism and real-estate development, among other pursuits. Those revenue streams and their underlying assets are difficult to pin down without access to government books.

In an emailed response to questions, a Dubai government spokesman said the emirate's debt load is "very moderate" by international standards, and the debt raised by Dubai entities "has all been in their capacity as leading international players that are successfully expanding in a number of profitable markets." He said Dubai is in the process of obtaining a rating on its sovereign, or government, debt. Such a rating gauges a government's ability to pay back its borrowing, and it is used to price publicly sold debt.

S&P credit analysts estimate Dubai's debt, relative to gross domestic product, is about 42%. Compared with the U.S., where gross debt stands at more than 60% of GDP, according to the International Monetary Fund, that isn't bad. But in Abu Dhabi, debt is equal to just 2.9% of GDP.

Analysts think Dubai's assets, including real estate, aviation and tourism interests and taxes, far outweigh its debt, but they would like to know more.

Of course, credit-rating companies have another motivation: In most cases, they are paid to rate the creditworthiness of firms and governments, and the big three firms are eager for clients like the government of Dubai.

Write to Chip Cummins at [Email]chip.cummins@wsj.com1[/Email]

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