A British crypto investor is staring down the barrel of a possible 25-year prison sentence in Dubai, having been implicated in an alleged drug deal.

Waseem Khan, 22, found himself in trouble after police stormed his upscale apartment on September 4th, following a series of transactions that landed him in hot water.

Cryptocurrency has skyrocketed in popularity over the years. With Donald Trump’s election win, prices went sky high as the president promised to help crypto after starting his coin. 

The millionaire, who has already forked over $38,000 for legal costs, recounts being held for over two months in the dreaded Al Barsha jail, dubbed a ‘hell hole” packed with 200 other detainees, before securing bail release.

According to Waseem, the nightmare began when he wired $5,700 back to a friend in the UK, only for that friend to coordinate a man in Dubai to hand him approximately 15,000 dirhams as part of a shopping agreement.

However, mere hours after receiving the money from the stranger at his residence, the police swung into action, barging in and slapping the cuffs on him.

Charged with engaging in drug activities and manipulating crime proceeds, Waseem maintains his innocence against the allegations.

Now facing the harsh potentiality of a quarter-century behind bars, the maximum penalty for drug dealing in DubaiWaseem is barred from exiting the UAE pending his upcoming court date.

Reflecting on the grim period spent in lockup pre-bail, he related: “It was like a hellhole prison. It was the sort of thing you see in the movies.”

“There were killers, rapists and drug lords – people who had done nasty, nasty crimes. There were some of the worst people in the world in there.”

“Every day there were people picking on you. The living conditions were horrible.”

“If there were small problems, you’d have to fight over it. There were a number of times were I came close to nearly physically fighting people.”

“There was awful food, cold showers, the toilets were mouldy, it just stunk. The phones were awful and the prison guards were awful as well.”

“I didn’t even think I’d get out, just because of how bad my luck was in there.”

Waseem relocated to Dubai a few years back, where he purchased a fourth-floor apartment in the upscale Jumeirah Village Circle.

Like many expatriates, he relished the perks of the booming low-tax economy, which has attracted thousands of Brits in recent years.

However, after arranging for a friend to deliver him 15,000 dirhams for a ‘shopping trip’, he reported that police had stormed his residence.

Waseem recounted: “I went to the gym around 7pm and I did a two-hour session, and I just came home and cooked some food.”

“And as I was about to eat, the security knocked on my door.”

“Obviously I thought he wanted to speak to me, so I opened the door and the next minute, six police just came through the door, which smacked me on my head.”

“They’ve handcuffed me without even saying a word, and they said, ‘We know everything’ and ‘You’re wrong and we’re right’ and ‘You’re under arrest’.”

“It was frightening because, obviously, I didn’t do anything wrong. I was thinking, ‘Why am I being treated like a criminal’.”

Waseem recounted: “At the same time, one of the officers said, ‘You’re going to get the death penalty, you’re going to get 25 years.’ And they were just laughing and joking about it.”

He claimed that upon being taken to the police station, a senior officer initially told him he was ‘innocent’ and would be released.

However, he was then led into a crowded detention cell, where he spent the next two and a half months waiting for a bail hearing to secure his release.

Waseem continued: “When I was arrested, they asked me all the questions.”

“One of the officers, the head of CID who arrested me, said, ‘Don’t worry. you’re going to be released in one hour, we know you’re innocent, you had nothing to do with this’.”

“So obviously I took his word and he said, ‘They’re just going to take your fingerprints, just go through this door and you’ll be out in one hour.'”.

“I went through this door and I ended up in a whole prison cell with 200 people sleeping on the floor and just a bad smell.”

“I said, ‘What’s this, you said I was going to get out,’ and they just closed the door behind me and left me in there.”

Waseem stated that he had been forced to liquidate assets, including his expensive cars, to raise the funds needed for legal representation rapidly.

He has also been prohibited from leaving Dubai while awaiting his subsequent court appearances.

Although his lawyers believe he has a good chance of defending himself, Waseem expressed concerns about the fairness of the local court system. He expressed mixed feelings about his release:

“I am happy that I’ve been released on bail, but I’m also really worried as my lawyers have said, ‘This is Dubai, anything can happen here’.”

He relayed the caution from his legal counsel:

“They don’t want to give me false hope.”

Detailing his current state of unease, he added, “I’ve had to move elsewhere because I can’t stay in the same place because of paranoia.”

The London UAE embassy has yet to respond to requests for a statement.