Why Katie Price’s husband was really arrested after spy claims prove false
After weeks of drama, Katie Price revealed that her 'missing' husband Lee Andrews has been found, after he had been arrested.
It's not over yet though, as Andrews, 43, claims he was arrested on suspicion of 'spying'.
Price, 48, claimed she had spoken to her husband on the phone from prison for two minutes, after his dad managed to get them in touch.
The model insists the phone call came from the Al Awir jail in Dubai, which is often dubbed the 'Dubai Alcatraz'.
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She said: “It was very rushed but he said the authorities out there thought he was a spy.”
The confused wife added: “I told him how worried I’d been and that I loved him.”
Price has been sharing posts and updates while searching for Andrews, including a special song she recorded for him to show how much she misses him.
"He's been interrogated"
She said: "I have found him. He is alive, and he is OK. 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.”
Price originally said she'd lost contact with Andrews after 13 May, the day after he failed to board a flight to her for a TV interview.
It is believed he was arrested on 14 May.
On The Katie Price Podcast, she insisted: "They thought he was a spy...He’s been interrogated, had hoods on him and all. That’s all I know.”
“All I know is that they thought he was a spy, so he’s been interrogated," to which her sister asked if he was 'like James Bond'.
Price replied: “Oh, he could f**king be James Bond."
The real reason
The Sun reports that instead of spying, Andrews was allegedly detained over claims relating to a private civil matter.
The outlet said Dubai authorities told them he was not held over spying charges, and that he is due to be released on Monday, but must pay a four-figure fine.
Prior to his arrest, Andrews moved his belongings out of his apartment and moved in with his dad, who later filed a missing person’s report at the British embassy in Dubai.
Last week, his dad told the Daily Mail: “Lee is OK. He has not been kidnapped but is under arrest. I don’t know on what charge. I’m not sure where he is being held.”
Several women have come forward with allegations that Andrews has conned them out of cash.
Anyone caught spying in the UAE faces a life sentence, capped at 25 years, and foreigners are deported immediately after release.
Back in 2018, PhD student Matthew Hedges was found guilty in an Abu Dhabi court of 'spying for or on behalf of' the British government.
Hedges was left with PTSD after being tortured in solitary confinement for six months prior to his sentencing.
He was eventually pardoned by the UAE president that same year.
Katie Price's missing husband: a timeline
12 May: Missed UK television appearance
The Dubai businessman, originally from Manchester, is supposed to be on an episode of Good Morning Britain alongside his wife.
When asked if Andrews got arrested at the airport, Price says: "No. You know, they just said it to me in there.
"So, I just said, 'Lee, apparently a British man has been detained. Can you just confirm that it's not you?' Because I obviously know it's not him.
"So, he's just done a voice note back and laughing emojis. 'No, it's not me' and a voice note. And he's just sent me pictures."
In a vlog on her YouTube channel, Price shares footage of herself calling Andrews after her GMB appearance, telling him: "None of them believe you're coming at all. The fact is, you've just got to get here and prove everyone wrong.
"They're like, 'Kate, do you know anything about this man?'"
13 May: Last known contact
Price says on her channel that Andrews is 'at the airport going through the border control to get his exit stamp'.
"So, he said he's 100 percent, a billion percent, coming today," she adds.
14–16 May: Communication suddenly stops
Price says she and Andrews are normally in 'constant contact' and it's 'worrying' that she can't get through to him on the phone.
"We're now wondering, as far-fetched as it is, he's a missing person," she adds. "I don't know if he's been kidnapped."
16 May: Price pleads 'please help me find my husband'
Over the weekend, Price says, 'the truth is, Lee has been missing for three days'.
"Lee was trying to get through the border near Hatta and, oh God, this is so discombobulating," she continues. "His location went off at 10:03, Wednesday night, that's the last contact anyone's had, his family and me.
"This is the third day now, obviously, he phoned me before the location went off. He's in the middle of nowhere, obviously, I'm worried."
Price adds that 'the last FaceTime call I had with him… he had ties around his hand and a hood'
"He sounded really worried and said like whispering, ‘They're coming for me now. They're coming for me. I've got to go’,” she explains.
17–18 May: Missing person report filed
According to The Sun, a missing person report has been lodged by his family at the British Embassy in Dubai.
"Lee is officially a missing person now," a source tells the outlet.
"Katie is in constant contact with his family and is desperately worried. And she’s mortified — she’s seen people calling it a stunt and that she must be in on it, but she’s absolutely not.
"This is such a worrying, upsetting situation."
19 May: Accusations emerge that Andrews is on the run
In a lengthy expose published by The Sun, journalist Clemmie Moodie accuses Andrews of scamming her out of £1,000, as well as claiming that he is currently hiding out in Dubai.
"Lee has NOT been kidnapped; he is simply in hiding after also ghosting his devastated wife for the past six days," she claims. "He is not dead. He is not in jail. And he has not been detained."
"He is squatting in a slightly run-down villa, frantically planning a route out of this ginormous hole he appears to have buried himself in, and is understood to be liaising with his few trusted contacts on a 'burner phone'," the report alleges.
This follows claims from numerous partners that Andrews scammed them out of money, which he denies.
Price details final FaceTime call with Andrews, denies 'publicity stunt' accusations
Price says she hasn't spoken to Andrews since Wednesday night, telling fans in a recent YouTube update that he was attempting to leave the UAE.
"The last time I heard from him, he FaceTimed me, he had a hood on and said, ‘I've just been captured or arrested’ and had ties around his hand, not handcuffs, and said ‘they're coming back for me’," she explains.
Price denies accusations that this is a publicity stunt, calling the claims 'disgusting'.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for FCDO has given the following statement to LADbible Group: "We are supporting the family of a British man and are in contact with the local authorities."
20 May: Price clears up rumours that Andrews was online on social media
Former Apprentice contestant Luisa Zissman, who has joined the search for Andrews, pointed out how Lee's social media appeared to have been active.
However, it seems this possible clue turned into a dead end as Price posted that she had access to her husband's Facebook account, so she was responsible for the recent activity.
"I have Lee's Facebook, it's not him on this it's me," she wrote, as the search continues.
23 May: Andrews' dad claims he's been arrested in Dubai
"Lee is OK. He has not been kidnapped but he is under arrest. I don't know on what charge," his dad Peter claims to the Daily Mail. "I'm not sure where he is being held. But he will call me later today."
However, Price responds to the claims on Instagram, writing: "THIS IS FAKE NEWES [sic] LEE IS STILL MISSING ME AND HIS FAMILY KNOW WHATS GOING ON AND WORKING WITH THE AUTHORITIES INVOLVED."
Peter doubles down that his son is 'not at my house' as Andrews had been living with him before he became involved with Price.
Meanwhile, Price releases a song on Instagram, writing: "Missing my husband so much it breaks my heart knowing he is still missing so I did this song quick as words mean so much to the situation."
24 May: A source tells The Sun that Andrews' phone has been turned back on
A source tells The Sun: "I had been messaging Lee and was getting no response.
"But on Sunday morning, my messages had gone from a single tick to a double – so that device is back on and being used. Lee has multiple phones but this is the one that is being used now."
27 May: Price claims she has found her husband
Price tells The Sun that she had a two-minute call with him, allegedly from prison in Dubai.
“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.”
Topics: Katie Price, Entertainment, Celebrity
Jen Thomas