A European "super cartel" that controlled a third of the continent's cocaine trade has been disrupted by police, with dozens of arrests in an operation across six countries.
Europol said 49 people had been arrested during the investigation, with the latest series of raids across Europe and the UAE between November 8-19.
The agency said police forces involved in Operation Desert Light targeted the “command-and-control centre and the logistical drugs trafficking infrastructure in Europe".
Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, said the Emirates played a key role in combatting transnational money laundering and drug trafficking.
He stressed the UAE was keen to "develop strong relations with various police agencies around the world to combat organised crime everywhere", state news agency Wam reported.
He said the Ministry of Interior and Dubai Police General Command were involved.
"The real-time co-ordination among all the partners involved ensured swift tactical decisions ... arresting the high-value targets, and dismantling their criminal infrastructure and network," a statement on UAE news agency Wam read.
Lt Gen Abdullah Al Marri, chief of Dubai Police, said the force would work to combat money laundering crimes and clamp down on organised criminal networks.
More than 30 tonnes of drugs were seized during the investigations in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE, run with the support of Europol.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration also played a role in bringing down the organisation, which was also involved in money laundering, Europol said.
“The scale of cocaine importation into Europe under the suspects’ control and command was massive,” Europol said. It said that the suspects used encrypted communications to organise drugs shipments.
The Netherlands was the country where most of the arrests were made, with 14 people taken into custody in 2021. Europol said six “high-value targets” were arrested in Dubai.
Record amounts of cocaine are being seized in Europe. Its availability on the continent has never been higher, with extremely high purity and low prices.
More than 214 tonnes of cocaine were seized in the region in 2020, a 6 per cent increase from the previous year, and experts from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction believe that amount could reach 300 tonnes in 2022.
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
ELIO
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
UAE Falcons
Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
