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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Ryan Fahey

Brit oil boss reveals how he was JAILED in India after being caught with satellite phone

A Brit oil executive was thrown in jail alongside hardened Indian criminals after being arrested while on a yoga retreat in the Himalayas.

Saudi Aramco executive Fergus MacLeod had accidentally broken Indian law by bringing a satellite phone on his wellness getaway at the Valley of Flowers National Park in Uttarakhand, a UNESCO heritage site.

Authorities banned tourists from using the devices after the terrorists who killed 175 people in the 2008 Mumbai attacks used them to co-ordinate.

Foreigners need to be granted permission from the state to be allowed to use the device in the country.

The 62-year-old was hauled away from the peaceful resort on July 12 and thrown behind bars in the town of Chamoli.

MacLeod was on a yoga retreat at the Valley of Flowers National Park in the Himalayas (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Mr MacLeod was holidaying with pals - some of whom also worked for the world's largest oil exporter - and claimed his lawyers treated him well while he was in custody.

Cops swooped on his location after he turned the phone on and off in his hotel room. He claims he never used the illegal tech to speak with anyone.

The phone - which uses satellites to pick up signals opposed to terrestrial towers like normal phones - revealed his co-ordinates, allowing the authorities to find him.

The investor relations executive, who has worked with the Saudi-based firm since 2017, said he was unaware that the phone - -which he purchased in the UK in 2017 - was outlawed in India.

The satellite phone revealed MacLeod's co-ordinates and allowed the cops to track him (Getty Images/Cavan Images RF)

He also claims to have passed through security without an issue in two Indian airports.

The senior executive said he bought the phone as an emergency precaution for when he travelled through the treacherous Saudi desert.

Though he applauded the way he was treated in some respects, he also had a number of complaints.

He claims his request for legal counsel was rejected and he was told he couldn't contact his family - both legal rights in India which are often ignored in practice.

And Mr MacLeod says he's been left shaken by the experience, partly due to the violent nature of the inmates he was forced to share a cell with.

He was allowed to leave prison after his pals - some of whom were also Saudi Aramco employees - paid for his bail (Getty Images)

He told the Financial Times : "It was a frightening place and a highly traumatic experience, where I was in a communal cell with long-term prisoners who had committed very serious crimes."

A cop confirmed he'd been arrested after carrying the phone "by mistake".

Mr MacLeod slammed the Foreign Office's response to the situation, claiming that while they were "sympathetic", they took "no meaningful action" to save him.

Thankfully, Mr MacLeod's friends rushed to his aid and paid his bail.

He had to remain in the country until a court hearing on July 27, when he pleaded guilty and was hit with a fine of just £10.

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