An American influencer and his brother were sentenced to three months in prison in Dubai for assaulting police officers while drunk, the Gulf emirate’s authorities said today.

THE Joseph Lopez, a former air force officer and contestant in the Mister USA beauty pageant was arrested along with his brother Joshua for “assaulting members of the Dubai Police, resisting arrest and damaging public property”, the official office of the Dubai media, in a press release.

The two tourists, who were “intoxicated” according to the authorities, were sentenced to three months in prison, after which they will be deported, as well as to pay a fine of 1,428 dollars (about 1,285 euros) for disturbing public order. injuring police officers and causing damage to a patrol car as they attempted to escape, the same source added.

Detained in Dubai, an NGO that denounces judicial abuses in the UAE against foreigners, confirmed that the two men were arrested last June after they were “spiked in their drinks” during a party on a yacht , while they were on vacation.

“It’s clear they were targeted by fraudsters who wanted to rob them,” said Rada Stirling, director of the NGO.

“They were given a drink while on the yacht and the next thing they remember is being brought in by plainclothes police.”

The Lopezes “didn’t understand that they were plainclothes police officers,” she added, noting that they thought they were victims of kidnapping.

Dubai authorities have not commented on the details of the arrest.

Aged 24, Joseph Lopez had won the Mister Louisiana beauty pageant and was set to compete in the Mister USA national beauty pageant in November. He has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram.