Grooverider has given his first interview to the BBC about his ten months in prison in Dubai.
“I got on a plane to go to Dubai to play a gig. I was picking up my luggage and the customs inspector came over to me and he said, ‘Can I check on your bags?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, of course,’ because I didn’t think nothing was wrong. He checked through my bags and found nothing. He checked through my bags and found nothing. Then he found a bit of dust in the trouser pocket. It was marijuana but it was a very, very small piece. It was just under a joint that was loose in the pocket that had been washed out.”
While under police custody, he said he was allowed to use his cell phone and thought he’d get a slap on the wrist until he met a few fellow Brits in the detention area. “I saw a couple of English guys and they said to me, ‘What are you in for?’ I said, ‘They found a little bit of dust, weed in my pocket. He said, ‘You know you’re going to be here for four years.’ I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’. When I heard four years, I kind of dropped a little bit, I nearly fell on the floor.”
The legendary drum ‘n’ bass DJ said he passed the time by reading and playing chess. Now that he’s a free man, Grooverider is eager to return to DJing and making music.