A young British woman has landed back in the UK after spending nearly a year detained in a Dubai prison, following drug charges against her that were eventually dropped earlier this year.
Isabella Daggett, 22, from Leeds, was arrested in the Gulf state just five weeks after relocating there to begin a new career as a recruitment consultant. She had been offered the position by a businessman she worked for in the UK, who arranged for her to take on a similar recruitment role focused on British construction sites from a base in Dubai.
The charges were dropped in January, but Isabella was not immediately permitted to leave the country. Authorities imposed a fine of approximately £3,000 for overstaying her visa during the period she had been held in custody. She was finally able to board a flight home on Friday.
A family friend told the Daily Mail the fine had felt like a final blow after everything Isabella had already endured, adding that everyone had expected her to be on a plane home the moment the charges were dropped.
Isabella’s mother, Lucinda Smith, 46, launched a GoFundMe appeal during her daughter’s detention to help cover legal and travel costs, raising close to £1,500. The family maintained throughout that Isabella had never used drugs and had done nothing wrong, also raising serious concerns about prison conditions, claiming she had gone months without being able to shower or change her clothes.
The United Arab Emirates operates some of the world’s strictest drug laws, with possession of even a small quantity carrying a potential sentence of up to four years.
