I've Been Arrested or Charged Over Drugs in the UAE

The police must tell an arrested person what they are accused of, and that they have the right to remain silent, before taking any statement (Criminal Procedures Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2022, Art. 48). In a drug case the first hours can also bring a search of the person, belongings, phone or vehicle, and a request for a blood or urine sample. The sample and the statement are usually the core of the file.

Ask for an interpreter, and do not sign any statement until it has been read back or translated and you agree with every line. Refusing without justification to give a sample the Public Prosecution has authorised is a separate offence under the drug law (Art. 63), punished more heavily than a first personal-use offence, so refusal is no way out; raise any concern about sampling through a lawyer. A lawyer may attend the prosecution's investigation and review the papers unless the prosecutor decides otherwise (Criminal Procedures Law, Art. 98), and the accused may speak to their lawyer in private at all times (Art. 106).

So involve a lawyer before the prosecution interview, not after a charge. The general arrest sequence is on our page on being arrested in the UAE; this page covers what is specific to drugs. LEXNOVA is not a law firm, but LEXNOVA Legal Connect can help you, or family acting for you, describe what happened and introduce potentially suitable criminal-defence lawyers, including lawyers who take instructions from abroad. The lawyer decides the strategy.

Federal Decree-Law No. 30 of 2021 on Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances has applied since 2 January 2022. It has since been amended, including by Federal Decree-Law No. 2 of 2025, which made the National Drug Enforcement Authority (NDEA) the principal federal anti-narcotics body from 1 January 2026, and by a federal decree-law issued in December 2025. The law treats personal use, and possession for personal use, as one family of offences (Arts. 41 to 44). Possession or dealing with intent to promote or traffic, and bringing drugs into the country, form the most serious category, with very heavy custodial penalties; trafficking, import and bringing in are dealt with in Arts. 57 and 58. Quantity, intent and circumstances decide the category.

Prescription and controlled medicines: some medicines sold freely elsewhere are controlled in the UAE. Travellers can check with the federal regulator, the Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE), whether a permit is needed before travelling, and should carry the prescription. Use within a prescription is not the offence; use in unauthorised circumstances or above the prescribed dose can be (Art. 41).

CBD, edibles, vapes and other 'grey' items: a product's legal status abroad does not carry over, and this page cannot say whether any particular product is lawful here. One narrow rule exists: certain listed food, drink and other products, carried for personal consumption and seized for the first time at an approved port of entry, are confiscated and destroyed administratively rather than treated as bringing in or possessing drugs (Art. 96). Whether that covers a given product is a question for a lawyer.

A police or prosecution test: no article of the drug law says a positive result automatically is use or possession. How a result is proved and challenged is a matter of evidence and laboratory findings: how the sample was taken, labelled and stored, which laboratory analysed it and how, whether a second sample exists, and whether the result fits the account given. A positive result can still be the central evidence.

An airport or border test: a substance or a positive result found on arrival can lead to a criminal file; for a non-resident with a small quantity for personal use, the port-of-entry regime in Step 6 may apply. Whether refusing an informal border test falls under the refusal offence has not been confirmed. An employer or pre-employment test: a workplace result is an employment matter, not itself a charge, and whether it reaches the police cannot be stated as a general rule. If you were dismissed, see our page on arbitrary dismissal.

Separately, a user who comes forward before any arrest order, or whose spouse or relative up to the second degree does so, to a treatment unit, the Public Prosecution or the police, is dealt with through treatment rather than prosecution, provided they hand over any drugs and comply with the placement (Arts. 89 and 90). Whether that route fits is a decision to take with a lawyer.

The law sets no 'traces' threshold or minimum quantity, and no article deals expressly with residue. There is no safe amount to rely on, but equally no automatic rule: whether a trace or a metabolite supports a charge is a question of evidence. When a quantity is weighed, purity is disregarded and mixed components count towards the total weight (Art. 95(1)). For residue on luggage, clothing or a car, who owned the item, who had access to it and who knew what was there are the key factual questions.

Detection windows, passive exposure and medication taken lawfully abroad are laboratory and evidential questions: how long a metabolite stays detectable, whether the level fits exposure rather than use, and whether a prescription explains it. The law sets no figures for any of these. Give your lawyer a complete, honest account of what you took, when and where; they may seek an independent expert view of the laboratory evidence.

The police must send the arrested person to the Public Prosecution within 48 hours, and the prosecution must question them within 24 hours and then order remand or release (Criminal Procedures Law, Art. 48). Prosecution detention lasts 7 days, renewable by up to 14; after that only a judge of the criminal court can extend it, 30 days at a time and renewably, so there is no simple overall maximum (Art. 107). An extension ordered in the accused's absence can be challenged by a grievance to the court's chief justice within 3 days of learning of it.

The prosecution can release, keep investigating or charge; for personal-use offences, the Attorney General may instead refer the person to a treatment unit, subject to completing a programme of up to one year (drug law, Art. 92). Release before trial can be on a personal guarantee, on bail or with a travel ban (Criminal Procedures Law, Art. 109), or under electronic monitoring; for the gravest charges it needs the approval of the Attorney General or his deputy (Art. 108). A prosecution travel ban is circulated to all ports (Art. 99) and can outlast custody; see our page on checking a travel ban.

Visits and calls depend on where the person is held; what family can always do is instruct a lawyer. LEXNOVA Legal Connect can help you describe the situation and find potentially suitable criminal-defence lawyers; LEXNOVA is not a law firm and does not act in the case.

Cabinet Resolution No. 43 of 2024, issued on 24 April 2024 under Article 42-bis of the drug law, covers a non-resident foreigner arrested when entering the UAE with a listed substance for personal use, within the quantity limits in its schedule. The person's details go into the Unified Criminal System and the case is referred to the Public Prosecution. On a first seizure the consequence is a fine, and the person may enter once it is paid; it is not, as often reported, a fine and deportation. A second seizure brings a fine, deportation and a three-year entry ban; a third, a permanent ban; and for some substances the consequence is deportation and a permanent entry ban. Above the limits, the ordinary regime applies. Ask a lawyer whether the December 2025 amendment affects the Resolution, which was in force when this page was reviewed.

If you are in transit and never left the airport: the Resolution refers to arrests 'when entering the State' and does not mention transit, so whether it covers a transit passenger is unconfirmed. Do not assume that staying airside puts you outside UAE law; the Penal Code applies to crimes committed on UAE territory, including its airspace (Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021, Art. 17). A lawyer confirms the position on your facts.

If you are the family member abroad: you can instruct a UAE lawyer without travelling. The lawyer will say what authority they need, often a power of attorney, and whether a document signed abroad must be attested; see our guide on the document attestation chain. Tell the consulate too; it can check on welfare but cannot represent anyone.

If the case goes to court, it follows the ordinary process on our page on being arrested in the UAE. For a first personal-use offence the law allows a fine instead of imprisonment, and penalties escalate for repeat offences within three years (Art. 41). Except on recurrence, the court may place the person in a treatment and rehabilitation unit instead of imposing the penalty, for up to one year, unless they were placed before or released less than three years earlier (Arts. 45 and 46). Both powers are discretionary, and community service is not among the options in these provisions.

If you are a resident: under the current Art. 75, as amended in December 2025, the court orders the deportation of a foreigner convicted of any drug-law offence, including personal use, and the order attaches to the conviction, not to a prison term. The exceptions are narrow: the spouse or first-degree blood relative of a UAE national, or a member of a UAE-resident family (grandparents, parents, children, siblings) where deportation would seriously harm the family or deprive a member of necessary care and the family can pay for treatment. If you are a visitor: outside the Step 6 regime, the same rule applies. This is judicial deportation (see our guide on judicial versus administrative deportation); a deported foreigner may return only with the permission of the Chairman of the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) (Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021, Art. 18(1)).

A decision can usually be appealed within a set, limited time; confirm the deadline with a lawyer on the day of judgment, together with what an appeal can change, including the deportation order. After a release or acquittal, check that any travel ban has actually been lifted before travelling. For the deportation side, see our page on being told you will be deported.