Dubai: A drug dealer sentenced to life, who was one of the most wanted criminals by Dubai Police and had fled the country 11 years ago, has died of heart attack a month ago in London.

According to police, Mohammad Fakher Zaman Lodhi, a Pakistani, known as ‘CoCo' fled the country in 1997 after being arrested for manufacturing illegal drugs. Lodhi fled to Lahore using one of his worker's passports, from where he went to hide in the UK.

According to sources, Lodhi died in February after suffering a heart attack while he was exercising at a gym in London where he was hiding since he ran away.

Police said the 52-year-old fled the UAE after authorities raided several premises in Dubai and Umm Al Quwain, including his companies in Sharjah in which tablets and machinery were allegedly being used in the manufacture of the illegal drug Mandrax, a class B substance.

Lodhi was convicted in absentia by the Dubai Court of First Instance in June 1999 on six drug charges and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was arrested at London's Heathrow airport in January 2000 and an extradition case was heard in the UK courts.

Activities

Police said Lodhi used to own Idial, a trading company in Sharjah in addition to a garment factory and other businesses, which he used as a cover-up for his illegal practices here.

His wife worked as a doctor at a government hospital in Sharjah.

Since Lodhi landed in the UK, Dubai Police has repeatedly asked for his extradition for drug-related offences under the provisions of the Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (the Vienna Convention) to which both the UK and the UAE are signatories.

The High Court in the UK ruled there was not enough evidence to justify Lodhi's extradition and ordered his release from custody.

However, Lodhi was re-arrested the day after the verdict following a fresh extradition request from the UAE.

Lodhi's extradition grabbed the attention of international media as it was the first extradition case between the UK and the UAE.

Gulf News learnt that Lodhi was seeking asylum in the UK.