Khaleej Times

how dubai police tracked and busted drug syndicate

Suspects were under surveillan­ce for a year before the massive operation

- Amira Agarib and Bernd Debusmann Jr.

dubai — Five Australian suspects arrested in Dubai as part of a multinatio­nal efforts against two drug traffickin­g organisati­ons who were under surveillan­ce for “about a year” and did not resist arrest, according to Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police.

The five men were among 17 arrested in nearly simultaneo­us raids in Australia, Dubai and the Netherland­s earlier this week. The suspects are all believed to be involved in the large-scale smuggling of various narcotics into Australia.

According to Al Marri, the Dubai arrests are a sign of the “strong cooperatio­n” with anti-narcotics agencies abroad, and were only taken after careful deliberati­on and cooperatio­n with their counterpar­ts in the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Al Marri added that, after receiving informatio­n that the men had ties to drug traffickin­g activities, the Dubai Police put them under surveillan­ce for “about a year”. After working with police in Australia and the Netherland­s, Dubai Police and their counterpar­ts abroad launched raids against all the suspects at a pre-establishe­d ‘Zero Hour’.

Al Marri noted that the five men arrested in Dubai were all in possession

The five arrested in Dubai were not found to be involved in drug traffickin­g or promotion in the UAE. They did have ties to drug traffickin­g groups in Australia, the Netherland­s and Colombia Major General Al Marri

of valid UAE visas and were not found to be involved in drug traffickin­g or promotion in the UAE. They did, however, have ties to drug traffickin­g groups in Australia, the Netherland­s and Colombia.

The suspects, Al Marri added, were referred to the public prosecutio­n and the concerned authoritie­s are now taking the necessary

dubai — A profession­al BMX bike rider known for his globetrott­ing feats of daring has unveiled his latest adrenaline-inducing video — this time, featuring the familiar streets and sights of Dubai.

Nigel Sylvester, 29, is wellknown on YouTube for his Go! series, in which he straps on a GoPro camera and takes his viewers on action-packed trips around some of the world’s cities, which so far have included New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

His latest video, for which he partnered with GoPro, however, brings this closer to home, beginning as he skydives — with his bike — over the desert, before he jumps into a dune buggy and races past camels through the sand dunes. The video then shows him getting into a car with four Emiratis, before getting back on his bicycle and doing tricks in various parts of the city, ranging from Al Quoz to the Burj Khalifa.

The roughly six-and-a-half minute long video continues with him on a jet ski near the Palm Jumeirah, sitting on the beach, scuba diving in The Dubai Mall Aquarium, holding a hawk, enjoying

When we started the Go! Series, it was really just an idea I came up with. It was an experiment.” Nigel Sylvester, BMX bike rider

a water park, and ends with a scene of him eating at the famous Nusr-Et restaurant, served by none other than the world famous “Salt Bae” himself.

Sylvester could not immediatel­y be reached for comment about the video. In an interview with Digital Trends magazine in February, Sylvester said that he considers his videos as “documentin­g life, in a creative, dynamic way”. “When we started the Go! Series, it was really just an idea I came up with. It was an experiment,” he said. “Go! Took place in New York, while Go!2 crossed the continent to Los Angeles.”

“After the great response in L.A., I said, ‘listen, we have to take this thing around the world’,” he added.

While he didn’t reveal where he’d be going on his world tour, Sylvester did say that he would go “from East to West.”

“The goal is to hit as many cities as possible,” he noted.

bernd@khaleejtim­es.com

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 ??  ?? Screengrab­s from YouTube video of Nigel Sylvester’s Go! series shot in Dubai. The six-and-a-half minute video shows him skydiving with his bike, holding a hawk, scuba diving in The Dubai Mall Aquarium and performing tricks on various parts of the city.
Screengrab­s from YouTube video of Nigel Sylvester’s Go! series shot in Dubai. The six-and-a-half minute video shows him skydiving with his bike, holding a hawk, scuba diving in The Dubai Mall Aquarium and performing tricks on various parts of the city.
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