Drugs worth DH12B seized in Dubai-UK joint action

dubai — Joint security and crimefighting efforts and cooperation between the Dubai Police’s General Department of Criminal Investigation and the UK’s equivalent authorities have led to the arrest of drug kingpins and seizures worth £2.5 billion, equivalent to Dh12.19 billion, in the past three years. .

As many as 2,974 valuable pieces of information were exchanged in the Dubai Police’s joint work with UK law agencies such as the National Crime Agency (NCA) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Two international crimebusting operations also resulted from the cooperatio. One involved the arrest of 12 international suspects and seizure of 1.4 tonnes of cocaine. The security bodies of both countries exchanged 620 security tips through a British liaison officer, arrested 75 suspects in several drugs cases and seized over 1.8 tonnes of narcotics in other cases.

Major-General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, noted that the UAE has a clear record in combating organised crimes — particularly money-laundering crimes — according to Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reports. “The UAE has criminalised money laundering through Federal Law No. 4 of 2002 and its amendments in 2014, and established a set of standards and mechanisms to prevent and fight such crimes,” the police official added. The Dubai Police and British authorities are also enhancing their crime-fighting cooperation academically. The number of Dubai Police graduates from British universities has reached 275. Both forces have also jointly organised 10 courses, with the participation of 124 members and three memorandums of understandings (MoU) signed in the academic field and the exchange of police knowledge.

The commander-in-chief also received Alex Aiken, executive director for Government Communications in the UK, and his accompanying delegation, recently.

Al Marri stressed the British delegation’s visit reflects the strong relationship between the two countries and its police forces. Aiken also emphasised “the very strong cooperation in deterring and fighting crime, evident between the Dubai Police and the UK”. The British visitors make up 8.01 per cent of all annual visitors to Dubai. amira@khaleejtimes.com