British teen held in Qatar for alleged cannabis trafficking from Thailand
A British teenager remains in custody in Qatar after being accused of trafficking cannabis while transiting through Doha on his return from Thailand.
Lino Neil, 18, was detained at Hamad International Airport on November 21 during a layover on his way back to Scotland. Qatari authorities allege he attempted to bring cannabis into the country.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed it is aware of the case. An FCDO spokesperson issued a statement to the Daily Mail.
“We are supporting a British man who is detained in Qatar and are in contact with his family and the local authorities.”
Neil, who works in the fishing industry, is due to appear in court on January 27. His family says they are now facing legal costs of up to £40,000 for the case and have already raised £2,500 to secure legal representation.
The teenager’s mother, 49 year old Nicola, told Daily Record that her son had no means or connections to organise a drug operation on his own and believes he was exploited.
“He is just a teenage boy, a baby, and he has no contacts in Thailand, and he’d have no way of setting up any kind of drug deal.
“It’s so obvious that he has been exploited and abused by gangsters, and I really just want him home.”
Nicola added that Neil, who turned 18 last month, had been under the control of a British man.
“I don’t know how he got into this mess, but I know he was terrified, and he phoned me a couple of weeks before he was due to fly home and told me he was terrified.
“He said they had a hold over him and he couldn’t get out of it. They said they would harm him and his family if he didn’t do as they said.”
She also described her son’s condition while in detention.
‘They put him in jail in Qatar Airport, and he’s had so little food to eat that he’s lost a lot of weight. He is terrified.
“When I spoke to him the other day, he was frantic and said he was going to take his own life, and I can’t take the thought of that.”
Neil’s older brother, 28 year old Robbie, said the teenager was initially held in a crowded cell at the airport before being transferred to Doha’s Central Prison.
Robbie said it was difficult to believe his brother had knowingly taken part in drug trafficking, describing him as ‘a wee laddie who knows more about fishing than anything else.’
In a similar case from May 2025, a British woman was arrested at Heathrow Airport after arriving from Thailand with suitcases allegedly containing cannabis. She appeared at Willesden Magistrates’ Court and indicated a guilty plea to attempting to import a Class B drug.
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