Dubai: The Dubai Police have recently foiled an international criminal plot to steal and smuggle high-end cars outside the country using fake licence plates.
Brigadier Jamal Salem Al Jalaf, Director of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Dubai Police, said the gang members were arrested after the Command and Control Centre had received a tip-off from a car rental office claiming a suspect theft of a Lamborghini Urus, valued at Dh1.3 million, which was rented to an Eastern European person.
The police immediately formed a joint team from the Criminal Analysis Centre and the Criminal Investigation Department in order to speed up the search and arrest efforts of those involved in the theft. “The investigation team was able to determine the car location despite the gang members’ use of modern techniques to conceal its whereabouts and prevent inference of its location,” Al Jalaf said.
The director of CID said they determined the suspects’ identities and closely monitored their movements and activities before they located their residence, “All suspects hold the same Eastern European nationality. They took a residential place in a luxury area as a criminal base for their plot,” Al Jalaf said.
The raid
Colonel Adel Al-Joker, Acting Director of CID, said the police planned the raid and set the zero hour upon determining the suspects’ hideout. “Our teams took down the four suspects and seized some forged car plates and forging tools at their residence,” he said.
The perpetrators admitted to sending one of their gang members to rent a luxury car and then hand over the vehicle to them to smuggle the car overseas. “They planned to smuggle the car outside the country using the forged plates they had prepared,” he explained.
Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, the Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, lauded the team who utilised artificial intelligence technologies to arrest the suspects as they were trying to steal their first luxury car. “This is another great achievement added to the proud record of Dubai Police in ensuring the emirate’s security and safety as well as preserving people’s money and property,” he said.
Major General Expert Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs, said that the arrest was characterised by high professionalism through the process of following up the report and monitoring the movements of the gang members over several days, until setting the zero hour and raiding their criminals’ hideouts. Al Mansoori also stressed the force’s keenness on enhancing the safety and security of citizens and residents.
