forums : Jungle Scene

GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

here's an update...

BBC Radio One DJ Raymond Bingham aka Grooverider, who was arrested at the Dubai airport on November 23 for carrying cannabis and pornographic material said he was coping well in jail here.

"I’m alright, it could have definitely been worse. I spend my time reading and catching up on things in here," he said.

"I have no clue what’s happening on the outside, but I hope for all this to end soon," he added.

Bingham, 40, who is known as the ‘Godfather of Drum and Bass’ (electronic dance music), expressed dismay at British Consulate officials in Dubai.

"The British Consulate officials are a joke. They just threw me leaflets and that was that," said Bingham. "This is ridiculous. I must have forgotten the spliff. It was a small amount. Back home I would not even get prosecuted."

The British Consulate declined to comment on the case but according to Simon Goldsmith, second secretary, political and media affairs, it is offering consular assistance.

The consulate’s website offers clear warning about what it can – and can’t – do to help British citizens.

Bingham, who was to perform at the Lodge on November 23, was on his second visit to the city. "I just want this to end and leave, I never want to come back."

Bingham could be facing four years in jail in Dubai. The court date has not been disclosed yet.

http://www.xpress4me.com/news/uae/dubai/20005021.html

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

Sucks, that dnbarena mix he put out last year is the s**t. I wish there was something we could do to help him out.

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

MAN that sucks, and I was pissed when I had to spend the night in a south lake Tahoe(Nevada) Jail for less than a half gram.. but 4 years! damn..

[ jyro - 7 Jan 2008 02:41 ]

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

4 years for somthing that grows out of the fukking ground.... what a joke.

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

at least he wasnt born a woman... isnt that the ultimate crime there?... that is some backwards s**t.

side note, can you imagine how much it must cost for a gram there? i know in japan it becomes almost 100 bux a gram because of the harsh disipline, this place must be insane.

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

actually, in japan it's about $60 a G and anywhere around $120-140 for an 8th...the sad part is, the weight includes stems and seeds. the real good quality stuff you better be knees deep with the locals. it sucks!

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

It was easier for me to just buy Mushrooms in Japan than weed. And they were bomb! But I think that's changed.

Does anyone else have a bad feeling about the outcome of this? At this point it seems as though they're going to make an example out of him.

Good Luck Groove.

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According to rebellion ...

actually, in japan it's about $60 a G and anywhere around $120-140 for an 8th...the sad part is, the weight includes stems and seeds. the real good quality stuff you better be knees deep with the locals. it sucks!
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Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

man thats gay, f or f**king years? the uk better at least try to help out, but its kinda like getting locked up in mexico.
i hate the middle east and i been there to, they hate us too and the britts.

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

dont do the...,

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

any updates on this?

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

probablly wont hear much about this until he gets released.... hopefully he can get some sort of help : /

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According to djwhizard ...

any updates on this?
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Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

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According to trench ...

4 years for somthing that grows out of the fukking ground
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omg porn grows on trees? where can i get a porn plant?

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

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According to eecue ...

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According to trench ...

4 years for somthing that grows out of the fukking ground
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omg porn grows on trees? where can i get a porn plant?
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i dont know about you but my porn plant is called wood...lol...

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

uhhhhhhhuhuh huhuhuh huhuh ..he said wood..



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According to jungleriddim ...

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According to eecue ...

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According to trench ...

4 years for somthing that grows out of the fukking ground
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omg porn grows on trees? where can i get a porn plant?
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i dont know about you but my porn plant is called wood...lol...
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Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

Got this from DnbArena

1/28 Grooverider has admitted possession of marijuana when he appeared in court in Dubai yesterday. The Radio One DJ and Prototype Records boss, who's real name is Raymond Bingham, admitted having 2.15 grammes of marijuana in the pocket of his trousers when he arrived in Dubai last November.

Grooverider is quoted as saying "The drugs were in my possession and I forgot I had them in my trousers". If found guilty he could face four years in jail - the standard sentence for possession of drugs.

His Lawyer, Mohammed Al Reda, who defended Grammy Winning R&B producer Dallas Austin when he was arrested in 2006 with 1.26g of donkey ass , told 7 Days yesterday "He feels regret and knows he has made a mistake, especially when I told him the sentence he could face. I have met him a number of times and he is in good condition. He has asked not to be transferred to the central prison and wants to remain at the airport prison"

In an interview given from his cell, the DJ previously said: "I just want this to end and never come back. It was a small amount. Back home I would not even get prosecuted". According to police reports, he was arrested at Dubai International Airport on 23 November after flying into the country to play a set at the the city's Chi at the Lodge nightclub.

A Dubai customs official said in a statement read to the court "I searched him and he had nothing illegal on him, but when I searched in his bag, I found marijuana in a plastic bag inside a pocket of his jeans. When I asked him about it he said it was marijuana and that it was for his personal use and he had forgotten it was in his trousers"

A spokeswoman for Groove Connection, the British Management agency which represents Grooverider, said last night that she would not comment on the court case until she had taken legal advise. The case has been adjourned until next month for the defense case to be heard

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

well hopefully he'll get off like Dallas Austin:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002799803

full pardon.

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

apparently 'smugglin' poppy seeds is a no-no too

http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/news/article3333905.ece

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

thats pretty f**ked man.

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

Dubai has some strick laws.

A man was jailed for four years in Dubai after customs find cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar under his shoe.......crazy. See link
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=512815&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

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According to insurgence ...

Dubai has some strick laws.

A man was jailed for four years in Dubai after customs find cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar under his shoe.......crazy. See link
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=512815&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490

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Wow, the more I read, the more angry I get about all this. This type of aggressive prosecution of trace amount of drugs (including traces found on the bottom of your shoe, or even in your urine) has to be stopped! Four year mandatory sentences for having an invisible speck of marijuana stuck to the bottom of your shoe????

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Briton jailed for four years in Dubai after customs find cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar under his shoe

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=512815&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490

A father-of-three who was found with a microscopic speck of cannabis stuck to the bottom of one of his shoes has been sentenced to four years in a Dubai prison. Keith Brown, a council youth development officer, was travelling through the United Arab Emirates on his way back to England when he was stopped as he walked through Dubai's main airport. A search by customs officials uncovered a speck of cannabis weighing just 0.003g - so small it would be invisible to the naked eye and weighing less than a grain of sugar - on the tread of one of his shoes.

Dubai International Airport is a major hub for the Middle East and thousands of Britons pass through it every year to holiday in the glamorous beach and shopping haven. But many of those tourists and business travellers are likely to be unaware of the strict zero-tolerance drugs policy in the UAE. One man has even been jailed for possession of three poppy seeds left over from a bread roll he ate at Heathrow Airport. Painkiller codeine is also banned.

If suspicious of a traveller, customs officials can use high-tech equipment to uncover even the slightest trace of drugs. Mr Brown was detained and arrested in September last year and has been held in a cell with three other men in the city prison ever since. This week the youth worker, who has two young children and a partner at home in Smethwick, West Midlands, was sentenced to four years in prison.

A 25-year-old Briton who was found with a similar speck in one pocket as he arrived on holiday has been awaiting sentence since November. Meanwhile a Big Brother TV executive has so far been held without charge for five days after being arrested for possessing the health supplement melatonin. The authorities claim to have discovered 0.01g of hashish in his luggage.

Last night Mr Brown's brother Lee said his case "defied belief". "For that sort of amount common sense should prevail, from where it was found it was obviously something that had been crushed on the floor - it could have come from anywhere." Rastafarian Mr Brown had been returning from a short trip to Ethiopia, where one of his children lives and where he owns property. He was travelling with his partner Imani, who was also stopped and detained for more than a week.

Normally he flew direct to and from the UK, but decided to stop off in Dubai. "He was incensed when he called me," said driving instructor Lee, 57. "It would be funny if the circumstances weren't so unpleasant. "Bugs are crawling out of his mattress when he's sleeping. His family are frantic with worry and can't call him."

Last night campaign group Fair Trials International advised visitors to Dubai and Abu Dhabi to "take extreme caution". Chief Executive Catherine Wolthuizen said: "We have seen a steep increase in such cases over the last 18 months. "Customs authorities are using highly sensitive new equipment to conduct extremely thorough searches on travellers and if they find any amount - no matter how minute - it will be enough to attract a mandatory four-year prison sentence."

Mrs Wolthuizen added: "We even have reports of the imprisonment of a Swiss man for 'possession' of three poppy seeds on his clothing after he ate a bread roll at Heathrow. "What many travellers may not realise is that they can be deemed to be in possession of such banned substances if they can be detected in their urine or bloodstream, or even in tiny, trace amounts on their person."

Only two months after Mr Brown was stopped economics graduate Robert Dalton was detained in almost identical circumstances. Mr Dalton, from Gravesend, on Kent was with two friends when he was stopped and asked to empty his pockets. Officials found 0.03g of cannabis in a small amount of fluff. He is currently on trial and if convicted, is likely receive a four-year prison sentence. Last night his brother Peter, 26, told how it took 24 hours to find out why he had been stopped. "As we understand, the amount of cannabis was barely visible to the human eye and was at the bottom of the pocket of an old pair of jeans. "He's not a drug user, but he goes clubbing and the speck was so small."

Last week Cat Le-Huy, a London-based German national, was arrested on arrival at the airport. Mr Le-Huy, 31, head of technology with Big Brother production company Endemol, was arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal drugs after customs officers found melatonin, a health supplement used for jet lag available over the counter both in Dubai and in the US. Authorities also claim they discovered fragments in one of his bags which they believe to be hashish. Fair Trials International said the amount was 0.01g.


Jailed: Keith Brown had a speck of cannabis on his shoe


Held: A campaign is underway to secure the release of Cat Le-Huy from a Dubai jail

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[ djwhizard - 13 Feb 2008 10:05 ]

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

this is from artist 'Fafi' on her blog.



Thursday, January 31, 2008


I WON’T GO TO DUBAÏ

I am usually very happy to discover a new country, and when M.A.C asked me to go to Dubaï to promote the new collection, I told them I would.
Before going there, I wanted to catch an idea of what the country is, and, as everybody I wanted to check by myself the one and only 7 stars hotel on our planet, the "world" project, the biggest Hummers and limos on earth...
So I went on Wikipedia and was directed to radio shows from Daniel Mermet aired on France Inter. This guy was meeting all kind of people who are living or working in Dubaï.
After listening to 2 of the 8 shows, My curiosity for singular architecture and natural predispositions for palaces drastically moved into a deep rejection towards this trip after realizing how the people who are building this country are treated.
Until things change, this is the least I can do.
f

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

Apparently they are getting their message across.. "STAY OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!!!"

Fuck that place, everything is way overpriced there to. I'll die a happy man never visiting there.

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

4 YEARS,
Pray for the man,
this truly sucks.
Anyone got a good recipe for a nailfile cake?

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

terrible. sentenced to 4 years

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7253514.stm

[ karenita - 19 Feb 2008 11:06 ]

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

Holy s**t, that sucks so bad. No more Grooverider for 4 years?!

I hope that he can appeal and hopefully get it reduced.

Re: GROOVERIDER WATCH '08

It is a beautiful paradise in a jailed society. It is for the uber rich. No one could afford *any* of those hotels or resorts except for the Sultans of the land, and the Euro-rich.

I would suggest reading up on the immigrants they are importing from Africa to finish those beautiful resorts. Our equivalant to Mexicans picking our fruit in California.

Much like China, UAE is promising a new beginning on their opressive ways. Just watch, Dubai will be an Olympic spot, if they haven't applied already.

Re: GROOVERIDER GETS 4 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is another link to the story.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3395661.ece?Submitted=true

What a freakin' joke. Especially to the others who were sentenced this long for much lesser crimes...

Re: GROOVERIDER GETS 4 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

::ATTN BASSRUSH::

Get on the Welcome back Grooverider set at your event in 2012.

Re: GROOVERIDER GETS 4 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nov 2011

Re: GROOVERIDER GETS 4 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THAT SUCKS! :-(

Re: GROOVERIDER GETS 4 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ill be there throwing joints at groove

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According to subflo ...

nov 2011
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Re: GROOVERIDER GETS 4 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

damn that totally sucks

Re: GROOVERIDER GETS 4 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dubai don't mess around. Stopped through on the way to Iraq and they even f**k with soldiers who are just sitting waiting for a flight.