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British woman, 21, locked up in Dubai ‘hellhole’ prison without shower or change of clothes after drug arrest

Home> News> UK News

Updated 16:16 25 May 2025 GMT+1Published 10:22 25 May 2025 GMT+1

British woman, 21, locked up in Dubai ‘hellhole’ prison without shower or change of clothes after drug arrest

Isabella Daggett has been detained in the Gulf country since March

Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper

The family of a British woman facing unspecified drug charges in Dubai have revealed the brutal prison conditions she's facing.

Earlier this year, Isabella Daggett decided to join the thousands of young Brits relocating to the UAE after being offered work in Dubai.

However, the recruitment consultant's new life would swiftly turn into a nightmare after she was detained just weeks after arriving following an alleged drugs raid by police.

She now faces a lengthy prison sentence.

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Isabella's devastated family have now spoken out to raise awareness about her desperate situation, saying the 21-year-old has been wrongfully detained.

Revealing the harsh realities of Isabella's situation in an interview with the MailOnline, her grandmother Heather Smith insisted that she'd simply been 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'.

21-year-old Isabella Daggett was detained weeks after arriving in Dubai (GoFundMe)
21-year-old Isabella Daggett was detained weeks after arriving in Dubai (GoFundMe)

"Bella has been locked up because she was in the wrong company. Wrong place, wrong time. Wrong boyfriend," Heather said.

Heather explained that her granddaughter, who worked as a recruitment consultant for a Leeds-based construction company, had been offered similar work in Dubai by her boss.

However, there had been an issue with her living situation after arriving in the country, which meant that she ended up living with the man she was arrested with.

"She was arrested with a lad, that was not her boyfriend, who she was staying with because things had fallen through with another house," Heather said.

"All I know is that she rang me a week before all this happened and said that she wasn't happy and she knew something wasn't right."

She continued: "There was a whole sequence of events that led up to her, inadvertently, being in this bloke's house, where she didn't want to be. She didn't really like him that much.

The Gulf state has strict drug laws, which those convicted facing lengthy sentences (Getty Stock Images)
The Gulf state has strict drug laws, which those convicted facing lengthy sentences (Getty Stock Images)

"He may be guilty of something, but she isn't."

The exact charges which Isabella has been arrested on have not been made public, with Heather saying she believed it was likely 'possession' of drugs.

"I don't know the whole thing. I'm not sure what charges she has been arrested for, only possession of something - probably drugs, but I don't know for certain," she said.

"But she is innocent because they have done all the tests and there was nothing in her system."

Her family have also revealed the harsh prison conditions she is currently facing, claiming that she has not had access to a shower of a change of clothes behind bars.

"Women get treated far worse than male prisoners," Heather said. "She hasn't had a shower for a month, she hasn't had a change of clothes for three months. She has had nothing."

Isabella's family are now desperately trying to get her home (Facebook)
Isabella's family are now desperately trying to get her home (Facebook)

The family are now attempting to raise funds to help with the 'legal and travel expenses' involved with supporting Isabella.

"My daughter Isabella has been wrongfully detained in Dubai, and we are doing everything we can to prove her innocence and bring her back home," reads a statement from Isabella's mother Lucinda.

"We have proof she was not involved in these charges and are determined to fight for her freedom. The hideous conditions she is living in is enough to break any mother’s heart."

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman told LADbible: “We are supporting the family of a British national who has been arrested in the United Arab Emirates and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Featured Image Credit: Facebook

Topics: Crime, Drugs, UK News, World News, Dubai

Brenna Cooper
Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper is a journalist at LADbible. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in History, followed by an NCTJ accredited masters in Journalism. She began her career as a freelance writer for Digital Spy, where she wrote about all things TV, film and showbiz. Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.

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@_brencoco

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