Kiwi's love triangle arrest

Toby Carroll is being held by police in Dubai. Photo / Facebook

A New Zealand banking analyst is behind bars in Dubai after calling police for help when a jilted lover allegedly attacked him with a knife.

The Brazilian woman, 24, is understood to have caught former Aucklander Toby Carroll, who is aged in his 30s, in bed with his new British girlfriend on the same day he broke up with her.

She allegedly took revenge by wrecking his apartment and threatening him with a knife, the Gulf News website said.

Police said the Brazilian woman went to Mr Carroll's home early in the morning and wrecked the house with a kitchen knife and then allegedly tried to attack Mr Carroll and his new girlfriend with the knife.

When Mr Carroll phoned police, they arrested all three and locked them up in Bur Dubai police station - putting the two women in the same cell.

Mr Carroll was last night still in police custody but it was unclear what, if anything, he had been charged with.

Police said the case had been transferred to the public prosecutor for further investigation.

The United Arab Emirates has strict laws banning sex outside marriage but Dubai police would not say if he had been arrested because of the sexual relationship or some other offence.

New Zealand diplomatic staff are trying to help Mr Carroll. His employer, HSBC, said it had spoken to him and he remained an employee.

His former girlfriend, Aucklander Anna Jobsz, last night told the Herald she was shocked to hear of his arrest.

They dated several years ago, and have remained close friends.

"Toby is an amazing guy ... He's an absolute lovely guy. He's a top character and I can tell you from experience from being with him he's a gentleman in every way."

She was reluctant to speak about him in detail without talking to him and his parents, who live in Paeroa.

Mr Carroll is a property analyst at HSBC Middle East, in Dubai. He has not lived in New Zealand for years and has commented on real estate matters in several Middle Eastern publications.

HSBC head of communications Tim Harrison last night said from Dubai: "Toby Carroll is an employee. He was arrested in connection with a personal matter and remains in police custody. We are in contact with him, he remains an employee and we await the outcome of his trial."

Sex outside marriage in the United Arab Emirates is illegal. Holding hands is tolerated between married couples, but kissing and hugging are considered offences against public decency.

In 2008 British woman Michelle Palmer, 30, was arrested after allegedly being caught having sex on a beach, and in 2009 another British woman, Charlotte Adams, was jailed for a month for kissing a man on the mouth at a restaurant.

A New Zealander in Dubai, who asked not to be named, said authorities usually turned a blind eye to sexual relationships unless "it was really in their faces".

Mr Carroll's mother didn't want to discuss her son's predicament.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the ministry knew of the case and the New Zealand Consulate-General in Dubai had been giving assistance.