Katie Price has spoken to her husband Lee Andrews after he was found alive in Dubai, where he is reportedly being held at the Al Awir prison following his alleged arrest on suspicion of espionage
(Image: @wesleeeandrews/Instagram)
Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews has been found. The self-proclaimed millionaire was reported missing on 17th May, five days after he was last seen.
Lee claims he was arrested and detained on suspicion of espionage, and has been held at Dubai’s notorious Al Awir prison.
Katie said: “I have found him – he is alive, and he is okay.
“I told him how worried I had been and told him I loved him. It was very rushed, but he said the authorities out there thought he was a spy. I don’t know much more than that right now,” she told The Sun.
It is understood Lee was arrested on Wednesday 14th May after going into hiding when he failed to board a flight back to the UK, reports the Mirror, reports the Irish Mirror.
In the days before his arrest, he had emptied his rental apartment and briefly relocated to his father’s Dubai villa.
Lee must now pay a four-figure fine and is expected to be freed on Monday.
The former glamour model had initially informed her followers that her husband had been kidnapped in Dubai while preparing to fly to the United Kingdom to be reunited with her. During a distressing FaceTime call, Lee told his wife he was in the back of a van with his hands tied.
He alerted Katie that individuals were “coming” for him, which left her extremely concerned. Just five days following their final exchange, Katie reported him missing and notified supporters that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in the United Arab Emirates, where Lee resides, had joined the investigation.
Now, a fortnight after vanishing, Lee has been found. Reports indicate that he revealed he was arrested on Wednesday 14 May following a deliberate attempt to keep a low profile – he was purportedly detained on suspicion of espionage, asserting that he was held at the Al Awir prison in Dubai.
It has been reported that he will now be obliged to pay a fine, thought to be in the four-figure bracket, and is expected to be released on Monday.
Concerns initially emerged about Lee when he didn’t turn up with Katie on Good Morning Britain, just one day before Katie’s last communication with him. He was meant to travel from Muscat International to join his wife for their inaugural joint interview. Despite submitting a video to both Katie and Good Morning Britain, maintaining he was at the airport.
Nevertheless, the airport appeared to be Terminal Two of Dubai International, not Muscat. ITV also confirmed that a Foreign Office spokesperson informed them that the Foreign Office was offering assistance to a British national who had been detained in the United Arab Emirates. The mother-of-five subsequently shared what she claimed were the last text messages received from her husband’s phone, with one stating: “Been arrested, I’ll be in touch.”
While speculation emerged that Lee was being pursued by Interpol, a source has told the Mirror this is not accurate, pointing out that if he is being held by authorities in the United Arab Emirates, it’s unlikely to be linked to a report initially made to Hertfordshire Police earlier this year.
Hertfordshire Police later issued a statement to The Mirror, confirming: “We’d like to clarify that Hertfordshire Constabulary received a report in March, however, once it was established the alleged offences happened in Dubai, we referred this case to the relevant authorities as this was outside of our jurisdiction.”
Katie had earlier told her YouTube followers that she suspected Lee had been kidnapped. She disclosed that the location services on Lee’s phone had been turned off, leaving nobody able to trace him or get in touch. “Me and Lee are in constant contact all the time,” she explained, describing it as “worrying” that Lee’s location had been switched off.
Katie revealed that she had been sent a message suggesting that Lee could not be located in Dubai or at his last known address. “We’re now wondering, as far-fetched as it is, he’s a missing person,” she said, adding: “I don’t know if he’s been kidnapped.” She maintained that there had been no record of Lee at any prison or police station.
“We’re wondering if he’s been kidnapped; he’s definitely a missing person now,” she added. However, her choice to speak out publicly has left Lee’s friends and family fuming. Lee’s mum, psychic medium Trisha Andrews, has also publicly slammed her daughter-in-law in a harsh social media post.
Under a Facebook post advertising her psychic evening, one person commented: “Think everyone needs to leave her [Trisha] alone as she’s not responsible for Price’s drama-queen antics.” Trisha responded: “Thank you Jane it’s Katy exployting and I get all the backlash [sic].” A family friend, Rebecca, who was raised alongside Lee and his sister Kelly in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, disclosed that Kelly is taking the lead for the family and has been liaising with Katie and the authorities.
“She is trying to take the strain off her mother, Trisha, and I’m trying to support both of them through this worrying time,” Rebecca told the Daily Mail. She continued: “Kelly wasn’t happy with the video Katie put out about him being kidnapped. That blew everything up, and it was unnecessary.” Rebecca revealed that Lee’s family are “sick with worry,” and that Trisha has been reduced to tears, noting that those closest to him “don’t have the money” to travel to Dubai, as his friends and family “work regular jobs”.
