Dubai Police capture 432 international fugitives in two years

Over the last two years, Dubai Police have arrested 432 international fugitives wanted for various offences, including murder, money laundering and armed robbery.

The force also extradited 379 wanted persons to 30 different countries over the same period.

Major General Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, Director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation, said that the Wanted Persons Department has played a vital role in arresting notorious crime lords, often using sophisticated surveillance technologies.

“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,” Al Jallaf added.

Successful Operations

Last month, Dubai Police joined six European countries in Operation' Desert Light' targeting dozens of high-value targets and drug lords 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 the arrest of 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 operations across Europe.

Known as ‘The Ghost’, Bouchibi had been travelling under a false identity and had been on the run for ten years using forged documents when Dubai Police arrested him and extradited him to France.

In the same year, the Dubai Police 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. Imperial's right-hand man was also arrested.

The force also brought to justice Michael Paul Moogan, one of the most wanted criminals in the UK for his involvement in a large-scale international drug trafficking plot.

Moogan had been on the run for eight years when the 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, led to the arrest of 30 wanted gang leaders in a synchronised series of raids.