Bad-back Briton cleared of drug charges

A BRITISH woman who spent eight weeks in a Dubai jail on drug charges was finally cleared yesterday after a court accepted she had taken only medication prescribed by doctors.

Tracy Wilkinson, 43, faced a four-year prison term after a drugs test revealed traces of propoxyphene, temazepam and nordiazepam in her urine.

All three are controlled drugs in the United Arab Emirates and illegal unless prescribed by a doctor.

Ms Wilkinson suffers from a slipped disc in her lower back and always maintained the drugs found in her system were prescribed for back pain and muscle spasms.

The sports osteopath, from Balcombe, West Sussex, was eventually released on bail last week after medical reports sent from her local GP were submitted to the court.

Ms Wilkinson did not attend yesterday’s verdict, which came more than nine weeks after she was arrested at Dubai airport on 5 March. Her ex-husband Robin, who campaigned for her release and flew out to Dubai for part of the trial, said he was "ecstatic" at the outcome.

"I have spoken to Tracy this morning and she is extremely relieved and thrilled about the situation," the 50-year-old former policeman said yesterday. "She wants to thank everybody for their support and belief in her."

He said the case against his ex-wife and her eight-week detention in a prison cell "beggar’s belief".

"Lets just hope that this sort of thing never happens to anyone else," he said. "It’s a travesty really, and it’s Tracy that had to go through it.

"The main thing is that the judge has recognised that the drugs that were found inside her system were prescribed by doctors, including doctors in Dubai."

Ms Wilkinson had tested positive in a test ordered after Dubai airport staff took her off a flight back to Britain because she was behaving strangely, her lawyers say.