The Wafi robbery
On April 15, 2007, a gang of thieves from the Pink Panther brazenly drove two vehicles into Wafi Centre, smashed the vitrine of Graff jewellery store and escaped with jewellery and watches worth around Dh55 million in less than a minute.
The gang then burnt the two cars in an attempt to eradicate all evidence.
However, the Dubai Police forensic team managed to recover DNA samples. Within two weeks, Dubai Police arrested two Serbian men affiliated with the gang, and a third, who was extradited to the UAE.
After eight years of eluding the police, the fourth member of the gang, Serbian national Borko Ilincic, 34, was handed over to Dubai Police’s Criminal Investigation Department on October 14, 2015, after being arrested in 2014 in Spain.
There are two other suspects who have not been brought to justice — Bojana Mitic and Lazarevic Mladen, both Serbians, who are still at large in Serbia. Dubai Police have issued red notices against both of them.
Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief, had promised to catch every single person involved in the incident, at a press conference in 2015.
Al Mabhouh assassination
Hamas official Mahmoud Al Mabhouh was murdered at a Dubai hotel room on January 19, 2010. More than 25 people were named as suspects in the assassination, and they carried forged British, Irish, French and German passports.
Forensic reports showed that the assassins injected a drug called succinylcholine in Al Mabhouh’s leg to sedate him before suffocating him with a pillow. Traces of the drug were found in his leg.
Succinylcholine is also known as suxamethoniumchloride.
Dubai Police reviewed 648 hours of CCTV footage to break this case.
Biggest drug bust
On December 19, 2015 Dubai Police announced two arrests as part of a multi-agency operation that led to the seizure of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine worth around Dh1.5 billion.
Eleven arrests were made in conjunction with this case — four in the UK, five in Spain and two in Dubai. The men arrested in the UK and Dubai were all British nationals.
The two men were arrested in Dubai on December 1. One of them was believed to be the mastermind behind the operation.
The drugs were smuggled from Colombia to Spain, where they were to be processed in an underground laboratory.
Dubai Police seized mobile phones and documents that linked the two men to the 1.5 tonne shipments and related money laundering operations.
Six decades of milestone
CAPTAIN PETER H. CLAITON
1956: Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum issued a decree establishing the first police force in Dubai and assigning Captain Peter H. Claiton as chief of the force.
1958-1965: British Major Peter George Loremer became the second head of the police force in 1958, during a tenure that was described as “harsh”.
FORMER UNIFORMS USED BY THE FORCE
1965-1975: Jack Bricks, a former officer of the British forces in Palestine, appointed Police Chief.
OLD NAIF POLICE STATION, DEIRA
1975-1980: The Chief of Dubai Police was Colonel Abdullah Khalfan Abu Al Houl, with Colonel Mohammad Saeed Al Gaith as Deputy Commandant General. At the time, Dubai Police was made up of 10 departments.
FEMALE CADETS SHOW THEIR SKILLS
1980: Dubai Police have operated under the leadership of Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, who started with Dubai Police in 1970. He was appointed acting chief from 1977 to 1980 and later, in March 1980, was promoted to colonel and appointed the new Dubai Police Chief. He was the youngest police chief in the world.
CHIEF DAHI KHALFAN TAMIM IN 1982
1985: Dubai Police started digitising their basic functions such as registering and renewing car registration and issuing driving licences, with the criminal investigation system included in 1986.
THE FIRST COMPUTER
1994: Dubai Police started using a computerised system for checking fingerprints.
ON HORSE PATROL IN DUBAI IN 1991
1999: Dubai Police launched their website — www.dubaipolice.gov.ae
2001: The Electronic Services Department of Dubai Police was launched when the chief suggested connecting all the departments through one specially designated department.
2006: Dubai Police now consist of a 15,000-strong force, with e-service capabilities and various departments, including forensics, traffic, criminal investigation, state security and cavalry.
21MAY2006
2013: Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina named the new Dubai Police Chief following a decree by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
2013: Dubai Police launched their newly updated smartphone app. Up until April 2016 the smart app was downloaded more than 1.26 million times.
2015: Dubai Police launched the ‘Pulse of Happiness’ initiative, which is a new internal system to measure Dubai Police employees’ happiness. The system was later made public, and people would receive SMS messages asking about their happiness.
2016: Dubai Police’s new state-of-the-art headquarters for the General Department of Forensic Science and Criminology was inaugurated. The department has 520 technicians and support staff and around 200 forensic experts.
