UAE: Sharjah Police crackdown on gambling, street vendors, other illegal activities during winter season

The Sharjah Police have stepped up their crackdown on illegal practices and criminal activities that seem to increase during the winter season.

Police intensified patrols in residential and commercial areas targeting gambling in green squares, beggars, street vendors and gathering of teenagers during midnight under buildings.

A top Sharjah Police official said that residential patrols, known as 'Insad', have been intensified in various parts of the city, also targeting gamblers and people selling pirated CDs and banned tobacco products.

The campaign aims at reducing these negative activities, which increase during the winter season. The police have zeroed in on areas which attract a large number of violators that include infiltrators, men absconding from their sponsors and those wanted by security authorities.

The official stressed that the crackdown will continue till these violations are reduced to zero.

"Police patrols target groups of people who gather in parks, green areas and squares to gamble, which often triggers violence," he added.

The police are also targeting tenants of villas who sublet is for gambling activities.

The expat told the police that the gamblers had paid him, and that he sold food and drinks to them as they gambled.