Lino Neil, an 18-year-old from Drymen near Stirling, was detained at Hamad International Airport in Doha on 21 November 2025 while changing planes on his way back from Thailand to Dublin.[1][2] Cannabis was found in his suitcase, and he was accused of drug trafficking under Qatar’s strict drug laws.[1][2]

Neil says a British expatriate in Thailand controlled and threatened him and forced him to carry the suitcase, and his family says he was exploited by gangsters.[1][2] He spent Christmas in a crowded airport cell with 80 other inmates before being moved to Doha’s Central Prison, where suspected drug couriers are typically held.[1][2]

His mother said he had lost weight and was terrified, and his brother said the family only learned of the arrest after Neil missed his connecting flight home.[1][2] A court hearing was scheduled for 27 January 2026, at which Neil was expected to argue he had been coerced.[1][2]