Man claiming to be Bob Marley's son detained with drugs

Dubai: A man claiming to be reggae legend Bob Marley's son has been detained for possessing marijuana, Gulf News has learned.

Police officials said they arrested a man on Thursday morning at Dubai Airport for possessing a 'small amount of marijuana'. "The passenger had a Canadian passport bearing the name Robert Arnold, and was travelling from the US to Ethiopia. He was in transit here," a police official said.

The suspect, who police say is in his late twenties or early thirties, then told officials that he is the son of the legendary Bob Marley. "He said he is a Rastafarian. He has black dreadlocks and has been telling everyone that he is Bob Marley's son," the officer said.

Gulf News could not independently confirm whether the suspect is indeed Marley's son. The case has been forwarded to the public prosecution.

Marley died in 1981 at the age of 36 from cancer first detected in his toe that had spread to other parts of his body.