Dubai is Indian sin city unless you’re caught

Maybe money can buy anything in the sun-splashed showcase city of gleaming skyscrapers, throbbing nightclubs and immaculate seafronts. But it can’t help you get away with anything.

It’s a lesson that Indians—many young and newly rich from Mumbai—learn the hard way. The flesh trade may be flourishing but there is zero tolerance for drugs in Dubai, one of the seven states that make up the United Arab Emirates.

At the Imperial Suites Hotel, near downtown Dubai, Mumbai’s foursomewere snagged by a well-informed narcotics-control team. Popular with Indian businessmen, the three-star hotel is known for its easy availability of fun.

It isn’t entirely clear who owns the Imperial. London-based don Iqbal Mirchi, insists Mumbai’s Crime Branch, but sources in Dubai point to a name closer to home: Dawood Ibrahim’s brother, Anees Ibrahim.

An Indian tycoon, chary of being named, narrates the story of Premnath Patel (name changed), a 42-year-old Gujarati friend of his who has now spent two months in a Dubai jail.

Patel liked a toke of charas (hashish) most evenings. He had his fill in Mumbai, boarded the flight to Dubai but was, on suspicion, tested at the airport. He had only two grams of the drug in his toilet bag, but it was enough to nail him.

What India’s party lot forgets is that whether a road mishap, eve teasing or even a petty theft, the penalties—especially for outsiders—are harsh.

Once a magnet for blue-collar workers, Dubai has now stopped work visas. For the visiting rich and famous, it’s now a haven for more play and less work.

‘‘Dubai is about getting women cheap, easy and quick,’’ says choreographer Marc Robinson.

Dubai is also a central point between Europe and the Far East, making it an important transit point that provides for quick fixes of all sorts.

Some Indian models and actresses—under cover of shows or showroom inaugurations—are also known to make an extra buck from their post-show engagements. A three-day stint can easily net $3,000 (Rs 1.35 lakh), exclusive of gifts and hotel.

‘‘It’s not just the women, there are photographers, organisers and choreographers involved in the racket as well,’’ says a male model who doesn’t wish to be named.

Expectedly, a large chunk of the city’s tourists is Indian, and sometimes the seemingly bohemian atmosphere seems to go to their heads.

‘‘I had to often warn rich Indian guys who used to harrass women,’’ recalls Harish Kumar, a former manager at hip nightclub 49ers.