Dubai: The British government has thanked the UAE for their support and effort after a serial rapist from the UK was arrested in the emirates and extradited to Britain and jailed.
The British Ambassador in a statement on Tuesday thanked the UAE for their support in jailing Mohammad Avais, 50, who has been sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison in the UK.
Dubai Police confirmed that they tracked down the man to an address in Sharjah before Abu Dhabi Police arranged for his arrest and extradition to the UK.
Philip Parham, the UK Ambassador to the UAE, praised the UAE authority’s role in arresting Avais.
“Justice would not have been served had it not been for the assistance of the police forces in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We are very grateful for the assistance and professionalism of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi police forces,” Parham said.
According to the UK Embassy, Judge Fletcher, who presided the case, also expressed his appreciation for the support of the UAE authorities, and their excellent cooperation with UK National Crime Agency.
According to the UK Embassy statement, Avis, fled to the UAE on a fake passport in 2015 when he was released on bail while awaiting trial for 19 separate offences of child sex offences including rape and sexual assault. He was tried and convicted of all offences in absentia and sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment. He received an extra year on his sentence for attempting to evade justice.
A UK National Crime Agency officer based in the UAE contacted Dubai Police after finding intelligence online indicating that Avais was living in the UAE after he posted pictures of himself in the city on social media. He was extradited to the UK last month.
He spent 18 months on the run until finally arrested after Staffordshire Police tracked him down to an address in the UAE last month.
According to a report in Daily Mail, detectives found him in the UAE after he posted pictures of himself in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on social media.
He had been living in Abu Dhabi since January 2016. Avais, formerly of Etruria, Staffordshire, was also ordered to remain on the sex offenders’ register for life.
Avais had been charged with 13 offences of raping a child under 13, three counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and three charges of a serious sexual offence against a child. The sex offences were committed between March 2004 and March 2012.
But he skipped bail just one day before his trial.
