Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews may have lied to her about being detained and instead copied the real-life ordeal of a Brit who was jailed in Dubai, his friend has claimed in a new report.
The so-called businessman, 43, vanished on May 13 in what Katie claimed was a kidnapping after he ‘went dark’ on her at the Dubai-Oman border.
The TV personality alleged he’d disappeared mid-conversation as he was telling her he’d been arrested and ‘bundled into a van’ while hooded and with his hands tied to be taken to a ‘black site’.
But now it has emerged that Lee’s alleged ‘kidnap’ story eerily resembles what happened to British grandfather Albert Douglas, 63, who lived in Dubai and was arrested for financial fraud in 2019.
Albert spent the following four years suffering in a series of high-security jails where he was tortured by guards, deprived of food and water, and witnessed the rape and suicides of fellow inmates.
The British millionaire was sentenced to three years in prison in February 2021, after months spent in detention, over his son’s company’s bounced cheques – despite evidence proving his own innocence.
Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews may have lied to her about being detained and instead copied the real-life ordeal of a Brit who was jailed in Dubai , his friend has claimed in a new report
Lee’s alleged ‘kidnap’ story eerily resembles what happened to British grandfather Albert (seen right with his son) Douglas, 63, who lived in Dubai and was arrested for financial fraud in 2019
After his initial arrest in 2019, Mr Douglas was given bail while awaiting his court date and spent more than £850,000 on legal fees protesting his innocence.
Fearing he would be imprisoned for life and not given access to a fair trial, Mr Douglas attempted to flee detention in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, by crossing the border to Oman with the help of hired smugglers.
He was arrested in February 2021, stripped and hooded, before being jailed in Al Ain Prison. He was then transferred to a series of facilities in Dubai including Dur Dubai police station, Al Barsha and Al Awir Central Prison over the next several years.
He was finally released last December and reunited with his family.
Albert’s real-life kidnap ordeal bears resemblance to the story Lee has told Katie and now a businessman who has mutual friends with Lee has told The Sun: ‘Lee is the type of person to read a story and then imagine it into reality.
‘There are lots of similarities between their stories.
‘Lee could easily have made this all up based on Albert’s story, as it’s been in the UK press recently, and just be hiding out.’
It comes as on Monday Katie posted about being heartbroken amid his disappearance as she shared a graphic with red love hearts on.
The first heart showed a broken heart with a sad face and the caption: ‘Without you’, while the next showed a stitched-up heart and the words: ‘When I see you.’
The final heart was fully formed and the quote read: ‘When I’m with you.’
She also shared a quote that read: ‘I choose you and I’ll choose you over and over and over. Without pause, without a doubt, in a heartbeat I’ll keep choosing you.’
Katie last spoke to her husband when he was trying to board a 10pm flight from Dubai to Britain.
The British millionaire was sentenced to three years in prison in February 2021. He was finally released last December and reunited with his family
Katie is said to be desperate to get out to Dubai to help find ‘missing’ husband Lee, who was last seen on May 13
They had been due to appear on Good Morning Britain for their first joint interview, but Lee failed to make it over to the UK.
Ever since, Katie has been begging fans to help locate her ‘kidnapped’ husband, who she says, was last known to be tied up in the back of a van.
However, on Saturday, his long-suffering father Peter – who is one of the few people in Dubai to support him – told the Daily Mail that Lee has been arrested by the UAE authorities and is in prison.
He said: ‘Lee is OK. He has not been kidnapped but he is under arrest. I don’t know on what charge. I’m not sure where he is being held. But he will call me later today.’
‘He is not at my house,’ he added, while a police source said: ‘Lee Andrews has been arrested.’
And the chief of Dubai Police has confirmed that he is the subject of a number of arrest warrants, mainly for fraud.
Brigadier Khalid Khalifa al Avadhi told the Daily Mail: ‘There are many cases against him.’
However, the mystery surrounding Lee’s absence has continued to deepen, first after he appeared to still be active on social media, and now with fresh claims that he has been using his mobile phone.
A source has claimed that one of Lee’s phones had been turned back on Sunday morning as they told The Sun: ‘I had been messaging Lee and was getting no response.
‘But on Sunday morning, my messages had gone from a single tick to a double – so that device is back on and being used. Lee has multiple phones but this is the one that is being used now.’
Meanwhile, Katie has shared a clip of the moment she sends a voice note to her husband Lee’s dad after he went ‘missing’.
In a YouTube vlog filmed the week before last the former glamour model attempted to contact Peter to update him on the businessman’s whereabouts.
In the caption of the vlog, Katie said it gave a ‘unique insight in to how the first few hours played out’ after he disappeared.
She said in a voice note to Peter – who has since claimed Lee has been arrested – : ‘Hey Pete, it’s Kate. Last night Lee gave me your number.
‘He (Lee) said, ‘Look, I’ve been arrested.’ He was in a police van because he FaceTimed me, and said: ‘Look, they’ve put a hood over me.’
‘He said they’ve taken two of my phones but they don’t know I have this one.
‘He said, ‘But they’ve arrested me’ and I said, ‘What for?’ He said, ‘I don’t know.’ Then he sent me your number. Message me back when you’ve got this…’.
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