DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A retired Navy veteran from Covington has been arrested and detained in Dubai on suspicion of possessing medically prescribed CBD pills.
Charles Wimberly told Channel 2's Tom Regan: “They've now given me a travel ban. They're basically saying I'm trafficking drugs along with prescription drugs. body,” he said.
Wimberly said a doctor in Georgia prescribed CBD and prescription-strength ibuprofen for his chronic back pain.
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Surgery is scheduled for this month.
He was vacationing in Dubai for a week with friends.
On September 27, he was at an airport checkpoint to board a flight back to Georgia when a screener asked him to empty his pockets.
Several pills fell to the floor.
“He said, 'What drug is this?' I said ibuprofen and CBD. He said CBD was not allowed. He called the police and they said, 'Drug trafficking. “Are you doing this?” I said this is my medicine. I showed them all my prescriptions. They said, 'We don't have enough drug trafficking,''' Wimberly said.
Wimberly said he was taken to a prison cell, where he suffered diabetic shock.
After being revived, he was transferred to another prison.
“There were about 240 people there. I said, can you give me something? My back is killing me. I can barely walk,” Wimberly said.
Despite police telling him he could face a long prison sentence, he was released without bail and taken back to the airport, where he was arrested by authorities.
He went to the hotel where he was staying for two weeks.
He has not been given a court date and has no idea what will happen next.
His passport has been flagged, preventing him from leaving the country.
“We talked to the American embassy, and the woman there said we couldn't get involved. That's all she said,” Wimberly said.
Regan spoke to his father, Lonnie Wimberly, an Augusta veteran and veteran, about his son's detention.
“He is diabetic and has a serious back injury. He has PTSD issues. Denying him medication is not something to be taken lightly. It's very concerning to me. The number of pills he had was probably 5, which doesn't meet the criteria for trafficking. So what are they holding him for? It doesn't make sense to me. ” said Ronnie Wimberly.
An organization called Dubai Detention, which supports foreign nationals on board, is currently working through diplomatic channels to resolve the incident and bring Wimberly home.
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This includes the US State Department, which has warned US citizens not to bring CBD products, even prescription ones, into Dubai, where they are considered illegal.
Wimberly hopes Dubai prosecutors will conclude there is no evidence of his intent to distribute CBD, make him pay a fine and allow him to return to Georgia.
“It's scary. My PTSD is on another level,” Wimberly said.
Georgia's representative, Sen. Jon Ossoff, said his office would begin investigating the matter this week.
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