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Drugs worth Dh12 billion seized in Dubai-UK joint action

Dubai - The Dubai Police and British authorities are also enhancing their crime-fighting cooperation academically.

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Joint security and crime-fighting efforts and cooperation between the Dubai Police's General Department of Criminal Investigation and the UK's equivalent authorities led to the arrest of drug kingpins and seizures worth 2.5 billion pounds, equivalent to Dh12.19 billion.
As many as 2,974 valuable security tips and 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 crime-busting operations also resulted from the cooperation, in the past three years; 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 crime - particularly money-laundering crimes - according to Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reports. "The UAE has criminalised money laundering of 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.

MoUs signed

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 graduates. 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 first MoU discussed sharing best policing practices with the British Police, the second was an MoU with the University of Belfast, and the third with the University of Manchester. Both bodies have also exchanged some 45 workshops and professional visits.
Al Marri emphasised the keenness of Dubai Police to cater to the security requirements and needs of all communities and nationalities in Dubai. Last year, the number of British residents in Dubai was 70,311, when it had been 70,776 and 66,560 in 2016 and 2015 respectively. Dubai also welcomed 1,265,000 British visitors last year, an increase from 2016 and 2015 (1,251,564 and 1,152,94), noting that British visitors made up 8.01 per cent of all annual visitors to Dubai.
The Dubai Police Commander-in-Chief also received Alex Aiken, executive director for Government Communications in the UK, and his accompanying delegation, recently. The meeting was also attended by Philip Parham, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the UAE; Major-General Mohammad Ahmad Bin Fahd, assistant commander-in-chief of Academic Affairs and Training; Major-General Mohammed Ahmad Bin Thani, assistant commander-in-chief of Ports Affairs; Major-General Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, assistant commander-in-chief for Criminal Investigations Affairs; and a number of senior officers and officials.
The Dubai Police discussed a number of topics of mutual interest with Aiken, including ways of fostering and boosting joint crime prevention work, mainly against organised and cross-border crimes. The two sides also discussed means of enhancing communication between the Dubai Police, the British Embassy in the UAE and the London Metropolitan Police, the status of the British community in the UAE in general and in Dubai in particular.
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 United Kingdom."

Services and Initiatives

Aiken and the delegation toured Dubai Police's departments, learning about its latest services and initiatives that enhance safety and security in the emirate. One of these is the Smart Police Station (SPS), located at the City Walk, operational 24/7 and offering 27 key services - including taking crime reports and traffic incidents - with another 33 community-based services.
Dubai Police's smart security patrols with the latest tech, such as a roof-mounted camera that live broadcasts to the command-and-control unit, the plate identification smart system to identify wanted vehicles and others were also displayed.
amira@khaleejtimes.com