An American is stranded in Dubai ‘purgatory’ accused of trafficking six pills of his own prescription medication.
Charles Wimberly, 52, takes high-potency ibuprofen and CBD tablets for a back injury and post-traumatic stress disorder he suffered after falling from a helicopter during his 21-year career in the U.S. Navy.
He vacationed in the United Arab Emirates with friends before undergoing the next of several back surgeries in November.
But he was detained at security after emptying his pockets of the six 10 mg pills at airport security while heading home to Covington, Georgia, on September 27.
Charles Wimberly, 52, takes high-potency ibuprofen and CBD tablets for a back injury and post-traumatic stress disorder he suffered after falling from a helicopter during his 21-year career in the U.S. Navy.
Wimberly mistakenly believed the CBD medication was allowed because it was prescribed, based on information he read online.
Airport security disagreed, telling him it was illegal, and police arrested him on drug trafficking charges, which carries a huge prison sentence.
“Unfortunately, Charles received misinformation online about prescription medications,” said Detain in Dubai CEO Radha Stirling.
“He thought he was following the law, but now he faces a possible sentence of more than 3 years for ‘trafficking’ his own prescription drugs.”
The police put Wimberly in jail and told his friend to leave and catch his flight, or they would be arrested too.
Without his diabetes medications, which were also confiscated, his blood sugar levels dropped to 40 mg/dl and he fell into a diabetic coma.
“Charles was locked up and deprived of his prescription medications, as well as medications to control his diabetes and sleep apnea, causing him to have a diabetic episode,” Stirling said.
‘He is a good man who does not use drugs (as evidenced by his medical history). All he wanted was one last vacation before his debilitating surgery.
Wimberly woke up to a doctor shining a light into his eyes and asking if he was diabetic.
‘My PTSD is at a very high level right now… I’m so tired of crying… I can’t stop shaking. “My daughter is so upset… I feel like I’ve let everyone down,” Wimberly (pictured with her daughter) said.
Unable to walk, police took him to another jail cell where about 240 inmates were crammed together, sleeping on mattresses on the floor.
After hours languishing there, he took a drug test to confirm his story that the drugs were for his own medicinal use and that he was not a drug dealer.
Wimberly said the results led prosecutors to reduce the charges to misdemeanor drug possession, but he still couldn’t return home.
He was released without bail, but his passport was marked so he could not leave the UAE until his unspecified court date, likely months or even years away.
He retrieved his luggage, which was taken off the plane, and took a taxi to a hotel where he has lived on $80 a day since then.
Wimberly survives on turkey sandwiches from a local supermarket and does his best to treat his chronic back pain with over-the-counter medications.
‘My PTSD is at a very high level right now… I’m so tired of crying… I can’t stop shaking. “My daughter is so upset… I feel like I’ve let everyone down,” she said.
Stirling said the longer Wimberly was stuck in the United Arab Emirates, the more damage it would do to his health, as he would almost certainly miss surgery.
“If he is not released imminently, he will miss his surgery in Georgia and the UAE will not provide him with any medical treatment,” he said.
‘If he stays in Dubai, things will get very bad very quickly for Charles. His family, especially his daughter, is extremely concerned about his health and well-being.’
Wimberly will wait until the hearing date with no end in sight, as even defendants who are found not guilty typically spend six months stranded in the country.
Wimberly misinterpreted UAE laws that allowed prescription drugs to enter the country, but only if they were registered in advance.
‘All travelers transporting controlled medicines to the UAE must apply for approval through the Ministry of Health website. This must be completed before making the trip,’ the rules state.
“Controlled medications” include “those that, if not used responsibly, can lead to addiction and have the potential to be abused by individuals.”
CBD does not produce any psychotropic effects, unlike marijuana, but it is still included in that definition.
Wimberly will wait for a court date with no end in sight, as even defendants who are found not guilty typically spend six months stranded in the country.
