Social media influencer, brother stranded in Dubai after they say they were drugged during trip

CINCINNATI (WXIX/Gray News) - An Ohio-based social media influencer and his brother have been stranded in Dubai for over a month after a trip to the popular tourist destination took a turn for the worse.

Joseph Lopez, a former U.S. Airman turned social media influencer, said Dubai seemed like the perfect place to get away for a few weeks.

“I came out here because I wanted to shoot content and Dubai seems like this very glamorous place,” Lopez said.

Lopez said his brother, Joshua, decided to tag along for the trip they started on May 25.

About a week later, Lopez said everything turned into a “real-life nightmare.”

The brothers went out for a night and eventually ended up at a yacht party.

After a short time on the boat, Lopez said he was hit with a massive bill he never agreed to. At first, he was agitated but thought the issue was resolved.

“And then this girl brought me a drink and after she brought me this drink, I don’t remember anything,” Lopez said.

He said the rest of the night was a blur.

Lopez and his brother believe that they were drugged by the woman.

“The next thing I remember, I’m in the back of a car and my brother says, ‘Do you want me to get you out of here?’” Lopez recalled. “And my arms were all scraped up and stuff and I’m like, ‘Where am I?’ I’m in the back of a car that’s locked.”

What Lopez said he did not realize at the time was that he was in a police cruiser. The men in the front seat were plain-clothed officers.

Lopez said he and his brother are accused of resisting arrest, assaulting an officer, and drinking alcohol.

Alcohol usage is heavily regulated in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

He said despite being in police custody for days after their arrest, they didn’t take a breathalyzer test for 24 hours or a drug test for four days.

“Unfortunately, they’re both now facing potential charges and prosecution that could leave them both in prison for several years,” explained Detained in Dubai CEO Radha Stirling.

Detained in Dubai is an organization that has helped more than 20,000 people, including the Lopez brothers, facing legal issues while in the UAE, which Stirling says is falsely advertised as a Las Vegas of the Middle East.

Stirling said it has been more than a month now, but prosecutors have still not decided whether or not to move forward with charges against the Lopez brothers officially.

They are out on bond but are under a travel ban.

For the time being, they are stuck living in an Airbnb, waiting to see what happens next.

“I just want to go home,” Lopez said. “Like I want to go home, and I want to go home soon.”