Missouri man arrested in Dubai comes home

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A suburban Kansas City man who had faced four years in prison in the United Arab Emirates after a trace of drugs was found in his carry-on luggage returned home Tuesday after being freed.

About a dozen friends and family members greeted Danny Talbert, 26, when he arrived Tuesday at Kansas City International Airport. Talbert, of Harrisonville, was arrested two weeks ago after guards at a security checkpoint at Dubai International Airport found what they said was a trace of hashish in Talbert's carry-on bag. Talbert said he didn't know how the substance ended up in his bag.

"I think the attention that's been brought on the situation is definitely what brought me home," Talbert told reporters Tuesday. "I want to say thank you to everyone involved for getting me out of a messy situation I didn't need to be in."

The Kansas City Star said Talbert told his family in phone calls from prison that the substance must have been planted when he left his bag alone in a hotel room during an overnight stay in Dubai. A test of Talbert's urine last week came back clean.

His family and friends have described Talbert as a "straight arrow" who does not use drugs.

On Monday, Talbert thought he was being transferred from a smaller jail to a larger central jail. Instead, he said, guards surprised him with news that he was being freed and given a ticket to fly to Frankfurt, Germany.

Talbert said United Arab Emirates officials didn't explain why they were releasing him, only that he was exiled from the country.

"They can keep their country," he said.

A spokesman for Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., said in an e-mail to The Star: "Our office has been in contact with the State Department throughout Mr. Talbert's detention. Senator Bond is pleased that State Department and United Arab Emirates officials were able to resolve this case in a way that will allow Mr. Talbert to return to his family as soon as possible."

Talbert had worked in Afghanistan for a Halliburton subsidiary, KBR. He was flying home and had a one-day layover in the United Arab Emirates. He left his bag in the hotel room where he was staying while he ate at a restaurant. It was the only time the bag was out of his sight, his family told The Star.

Security guards at the Dubai airport discovered the hashish with a pocketknife that had a matchbox taped around its blade. The hashish was on a piece of foil in the matchbox. Talbert said the knife was somehow stitched into his bag.

Talbert, a 1999 graduate of Harrisonville High School, has no criminal record in Missouri, where he lived his entire life until going to Afghanistan a year ago.

After Talbert's story was publicized, friends and family contacted political leaders, started two online groups to raise awareness and funds, and opened bank accounts for what they expected to be a long, expensive legal fight.

He wasn't mistreated, Talbert said, but the prison was crowded and no one spoke English.

"It was kind of hard to know what was going on. I was constantly lost," he said.

On Tuesday, his mom, Jean Talbert, greeted her son at the security gate at the Kansas City airport with a long hug.

"It was horrible," the mother said of her son's detention. "I dare say it was the worst 13 days of my life."

Nieces and nephews held homemade signs that said, "Welcome Home Uncle Danny."

"What bothered me the most was knowing everybody else was affected by the situation," Danny Talbert said.