Kaz Crossley, a contestant from the reality television show Love Island back in 2018, has reportedly been detained in the United Arab Emirates on suspicion of drug violations.
According to The Sun, the 27-year-old beauty blogger was held at the Abu Dhabi airport as she attempted to make her way to Thailand to perform volunteer work.
She was caught on camera in Dubai in 2020, where influencers congregated during the COVID shutdown, appearing to snort lines of a white substance. The video was published by The Sun on Sunday.
Crossley has allegedly been transferred to a Dubai prison after being detained on Monday when she went through passport security at the airport.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We are in contact with the local authorities following the arrest of a British national in the United Arab Emirates.”
Luckily for Crossley, Dubai has loosened its drug laws, now fining first-time offenders between £4,559 and £22,799 and imprisoning them for no less than three months. Before, the standard sentence for any drug usage was a minimum of four years in jail.
An insider told the publication: “She was looking forward to getting back to Thailand where she has been doing voluntary work and all of a sudden she is languishing in a Dubai jail.
“Everyone knows how strict they are about drugs over there. She must be terrified. She had only stopped off in Abu Dhabi to catch a connecting flight but her name has obviously raised a red flag.
“She was allowed to send just one email and wasn’t even allowed to make a phone call.”
The news about the Love Island star quickly made its rounds online, and dozens of Twitter users have spoken out about the shocking revelation, one wrote: “The Kaz Crossley thing is wild but I feel no sympathy for someone stupid enough to do drugs in the UAE of all places. She’s lucky that they recently relaxed their sentences for first-time offenders and will only be jailed for a few months instead of a few years.”
While another commented: “OMG Kaz Crossley jailed in Dubai. Their drug laws are crazy harsh she’s a real dumb b*tch!!! And someone had the audacity to say she was one of the most successful islanders from her season a week ago.”
However, some fans stuck up for the star, with a third writing: “There is no law & no justice in Dubai. The ONLY thing that can stop injustice is the media highlighting the broken/corrupt “legal” system in Dubai & the wider UAE. At @DetainedIntl we have helped hundreds of victims. Dubai cares about their reputation, not people,” while another echoed: “I agree which is also why you think what the hell was she thinking IF reports are correct that it was a few years ago that the incident took place and she was well aware it was circulating on social media at least. I would’ve stayed well away from the Middle East had it been me!”
What do you make of the news?
