Dubai Police arrest 20 African gangs; Dhs660,000 recovered in Sharjah
DUBAI: The Dubai Police have arrested 20 African gangs who were involved in blackmailing and cyber crimes.
Major General Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs at Dubai Police revealed the details of Operation “Shadow” which led to the arrest of 20 gangs for committing blackmailing and cyber extortion crimes as well as fraudulent activities against social media users.
He also said the force has recently arrested a married couple who deceived social media users by posing as a recruitment agency for domestic helpers.
Al Mansouri attributed the success of both operations to the efforts and professionalism of the General Department of Criminal Investigations (CID) who utilised the latest technologies at the Criminal Data Analysis Centre of Dubai Police. He further reiterated the force’s readiness to shield the community against all forms of harmful and criminal activities.
Al Mansouri confirmed that search and investigation teams at Dubai CID are qualified and trained to the highest levels. They are also ready to tackle emerging crime and unprecedented security challenges. “Our officers keep abreast of the latest crime prevention methods including harnessing the artificial intelligence capabilities of the Criminal Data Analysis Centre of Dubai Police to track down criminals and foil their bids to harm our society,” he said.
According to Al Mansouri, since it’s inauguration by Dubai Police’s chief Lt. General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, the Centre has helped the force identifying hotspots of interest and conducting comprehensive crime prediction studies to develop solutions and improve early intervention methods.
Brigadier Jamal Al Jallaf, Director of CID at Dubai Police, revealed that they had received a reliable tip-off about some African gangs who lured men by posting and sharing photos of girls on social media platforms and via e-mails. “When the victim arrives at the specified address, he would find a different girl than the one he had chatted with online” Al Jallaf said.
“The gang would threaten victims and take their belongings including mobile phones and credit cards after they take pictures of the men in indecent positions and threaten to post their videos online and share it with the victims’ contacts if they report the matter to the authorities.” “The victims would end up sharing their mobile phone passcodes and credit card security pins, and paying huge amounts to avoid being defamed online and among their family members”, he added.
Lt. Col. Abdullah Mohammed, head of Criminal
Investigation Department at Dubai Police, said a team was formed immediately upon receiving the tip-off, and a thorough plan was set up to apprehend the 47 African suspects; ten women and 37 men. He confirmed that comprehensive investigations have led to the arrest of suspects in Dubai and in a nearby emirate, and they that had been renting flats under fake IDS so they won’t get caught.
Fraudster Couple Brigadier Jamal Al Jallaf revealed another fraud case involving a married couple, of an Arab Nationality, who claimed that they could bring domestic helpers into the country despite the shutdown of airports imposed by the recently completed National Sterlisaition Programme. He noted that 46 people had fallen victims to the online fraudsters who lured victims with expedited procedures for only Dhs3,000 in recruitment fees.
“Duringthenationalsterilisationprogramme,the Smart Police Station (SPS) received several reports against anonymous for defrauding victims and posing as representatives of a labour recruitment agency promising victims with domestic helpers,” the director of CID explained.
“Task teams were formed to investigate the reports and track down the suspects with the aid of available digital forensics tools,” “Soon after, our investigation teams gathered the necessary information and pinned down the married fraudsters,” Brig. Al Jallaf continued.
“The couple confessed to their crimes and revealed that they had been scamming families across the emirates by exploiting the suspension of labour recruitment during the National Sterilization Programme and taking advantage of people’s need of help during the quarantine period,” he concluded.
Dhs660,000 Stolen The Sharjah Police have successfully apprehended an Asian gang who broke into a vault in a scrap shop and stole Dhs660,000.
Police managed to retrieve the stolen money within 24 hours after receiving the robbery call.
Operations room received a call from an investor in scrap trading, stating that his money vault was broken into and robbed. The victim discovered the robbery after he returned to his residence in one of Sharjah’s Industrial Areas.
Police teams immediately carried out investigations to find out that gang members personally knew the victim and had worked with him before.
Oneofthesuspectswasambushedandarrested by police, after which he confessed to the robbery and revealed the identity of his accomplices.
SHARJAH: The Sharjah Police have successfully apprehended an Asian gang who broke into a vault in a scrap shop and stole Dhs660,000.
Police retrieved the stolen money within 24 hours after receiving the robbery call.
The operations room received a call from an investor in scrap trading, stating that his money vault was broken into and robbed. The victim discovered the robbery after he returned to his residence in one of Sharjah’s Industrial Areas.
Police teams immediately carried out investigations to find out that gang members personally knew the victim and had worked with him before.
One of the suspects was ambushed and arrested by police, after which he confessed to the robbery and revealed the identity of his accomplices.
Police officials urged members of the community not to keep great amounts of money inside their homes in order to prevent such incidents from happening again, and advised individuals to keep their valuables and money in safe places or in banks.
MOLESTATION CASE: The Dubai Public Prosecution referred a 40-year-old Asian to the criminal court, for sexually assaulting a woman in a Dubai shopping mall. Official records indicate that the victim reported the incident to the mall’s police office, stating that the defendant molested her while she was in one of the shops, as he called her to the fitting room. He then acted inappropriately in an attempt to seduce her.
The victim testified that she was at one of the shops with a friend when she asked the defendant whether he was an employee.
The defendant grabbed a pair of pants and headed to the fitting room, then called for the victim and began to seduce her.
He grabbed her hands and forced her to touch his body then tried to lift her shirt up until the victim furiously screamed and fled away.
The defendant confessed to his actions, and accordingly was detained and is facing sexual assault charges.