Dubai: Over the last two years, Dubai Police have arrested 432 international fugitives wanted for various criminal acts including leading or joining a criminal syndicate, premeditated murder, money laundering and armed robbery.
432
Number of international fugitives arrested by Dubai Police in the last 2 yearsThe force has also extradited 379 wanted persons to 30 different countries over the same period and repatriated 65 wanted fugitives from abroad for various criminal charges such as assault leading to death, jewellery theft, and financial crimes with total claims of more than Dh517 million.
Major General Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation, said the Wanted Persons Department played a vital role through tireless teamwork and utilising sophisticated surveillance technologies in arresting some of the world’s most notorious crime bosses.
379
Number of wanted persons extradited to 30 different countries from Dubai in the last 2 years
“Over the past two years, we have exchanged 1,830 security tips with member states of Interpol through the National Office of the Ministry of Interior and carried out successful joint international operations that dismantled transnational criminal syndicates and brought down drug and crime lords,” Maj Gen Al Jallaf said.
Busting 'super cartel'
Last month, Dubai Police participated with six European countries in ‘Operation Desert Light’ targeting dozens of high-value targets and drug kingpins that had come together to form what was known as a ‘super cartel’, which controlled around one-third of the cocaine trade in Europe.
The Operation led to arresting 49 drug kingpins and members of a prolific transnational criminal network involved in large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering crimes.
In 2021, Dubai Police captured Moufide ‘Mouf’ Bouchibi, a French drug lord involved in drug trafficking and smuggling operations across Europe with an estimated annual street value of 70 million euros ($82.6m).
Bouchibi became an international kingpin known as ‘The Ghost’, travelling under a false identity on the run for 10 years using forged documents when Dubai Police arrested him and extradited him to France.
65
Number of wanted fugitives repatriated from abroad.In the same year, Dubai Police also arrested one of Italy’s most wanted criminals, Raffaele Imperiale, an alleged kingpin of the organised crime syndicate ‘Camorra’, which is involved in drug and weapons trafficking crimes across international borders.
The force also arrested Imperiale’s right-hand man Raffaele Mauriello, who is responsible for plotting and executing murders and assassinations using unlicensed firearms.
1,830
Number of security tips exchanged with member-state of InterpolThe force also brought to justice Michael Paul Moogan, one UK’s most wanted criminals, for his alleged role in a large-scale international drug trafficking plot in the UK. Moogan had been on the run for eight years when Dubai Police arrested him shortly after receiving a Red notice from Interpol.
In 2020, the force arrested Denis Matoshi, a leader of the Albanian-speaking Kompania Bello criminal group in an international operation code-named ‘Los Blancos’.
The operation, which involved the anti-drug departments of 10 countries, resulted in apprehending 30 wanted gang leaders in a synchronised series of raids.
