Lino Neil, 18, was arrested at Hamad International Airport in Qatar on November 21 after authorities found cannabis in a suitcase he was carrying from Thailand to Dublin
Emma O’Neill Content Editor and Mark McGivern
11:44, 03 Jan 2026Updated 12:22, 03 Jan 2026
Lino Neil
A Scottish teenager has found himself incarcerated in a Qatari prison after being accused of drug trafficking. Lino Neil, an 18 year old champion angler, spent Christmas in a Doha cell crammed with 80 other men before being moved to the city’s Central Prison.
The young man alleges that he was coerced into transporting a suitcase filled with cannabis from Thailand to Dublin, but was apprehended in Doha, a city known for its strict anti-drug laws.
The teen’s family, hailing from Drymen near Stirling, shared how he called home in a state of distress upon realising he could face years of imprisonment in the Gulf nation.
His arrest at Hamad International Airport on November 21 coincides with a significant increase in the use of drug mules from Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries.
Earlier this week, we highlighted Beki Wright, head of the National Crime Agency’s Borders Threat Team, warning about naive young Brits being enticed by criminal gangs with promises of lavish holidays in exchange for transporting “packages”, reports the Daily Record.
Lino’s mother, Nicola, 49, believes her son – a well-known salmon fisherman – has been exploited by criminals.
Nicola Neil, mum of Lino Neil (front) who is banged up in Qatar over accusations of being a drug mule.
Nicola stated: “Lino has just turned 18 a month ago he’s totally distraught, which is the way we’re all feeling. They put him in the 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.”
She continued: “Lino said that he was being controlled by a British man and that he was being told what to wear and what to eat. He said he was staying in a room with three other young guys and they were all in the same situation.
“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.”
Nicola expressed hope that the Qatari authorities will recognise he was coerced into his actions. She continued: “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.”
Robbie Neil (front) with his brother Lino , who is banged up in Qatar on drugs charges
The family are facing legal expenses for a criminal trial in Doha that could reach £40,000 and have already been compelled to raise approximately £2,500 to pay a solicitor in advance for his initial court appearance. Nicola revealed her own mental health has suffered significantly due to her son’s ordeal.
She said: “I’ve been a mess and prescribed medication just to keep me from having a breakdown. I’ve hardly slept a wink I just need him home.”
Lino is scheduled for a court hearing on January 27, where he will argue that a British ex-pat coerced him into transporting the substantial amount of cannabis. Robbie, 28, the brother of Lino, shared that his sibling had travelled to Thailand for a holiday with his girlfriend after saving up some money.
He explained that Lino was returning via Dublin due to the cost and availability of flights.
Robbie recalled: “He phoned me and I agreed to pick him up from Cairnryan to get him home for Christmas. But he never arrived off the plane and it was only later that I was told that he had been arrested.
“When he managed to get a phone and call me he said he’d been set up. I believe he’d been in Phuket and flew out via Bangkok, stopping in Doha. There had been no problem with his baggage getting from Thailand to Doha.
“He was taken into a room by police in Doha and they said they’d found stuff in his bag. They gave him the impression that he would not be detained, that they would just deport him. But that isn’t what panned out.
Lino Neil who is banged up in Qatar on charges of being a drug mule. His family claim he was exploited and threatened by criminals in Thailand
“He was put in a cell with 80 other guys at the airport and that was terrifying.”
Robbie mentioned that the British Embassy in Doha had managed to visit Lino on Wednesday after he’d been transferred to the city’s Central Prison, where drug couriers are typically held.
Robbie added: “The new prison had a smaller cell, with him and just a couple of other guys, and I think that settled him down a bit because he’d been terrified where he was.”
Robbie conceded that his brother had some convictions back home, but dismissed the idea that he could orchestrate a drug deal. He stated: “He’s just a wee laddie who knows more about fishing than anything else. We just need to get him home.”
He reiterated: “He’s just a wee laddie who knows more about fishing than anything else. We just need to get him home.”
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