Dubai Police arrested one of the UK’s most wanted criminals who have been in the run for the last eight years.
According to the National Crime Agency (NCA)- UK, Michael Paul Moogan had an alleged role in a large-scale international drug trafficking plot in the Kingdom.
Dubai Police said the arrest was made shortly after receiving a Red Notice from the Interpol.
Moogan, 35, from Croxteth, Liverpool, who featured as part of the Operation Captura most wanted fugitives campaign, was apprehended in Dubai as a result of joint working between Dubai Police and the NCA.
Moogan had been on the run since a raid that took place at a café in Rotterdam suspected of being used as a front for meetings between drug traffickers and cartels, and central to a plot to bring hundreds of kilos of cocaine into the UK every week.
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Officials of NCA thanked the Dubai Police for their good coordination, high professionalism, swift action in arresting Moogan, and lauded the great cooperation between Dubai Police and the Interpol. They also praised the exceptional role of Dubai Police in combating organized crime and arresting perpetrators.
Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, attributed the operation’s success to the continuous support and wise leadership of H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, who has always directed the UAE’s police forces to maintain strong, active, and vital communication channels with the world’s police agencies, and Interpol to tackle transnational organised crime.
Al Marri added that the operation is another achievement to the fruitful cooperation between Dubai Police and international law enforcement agencies in ensuring the world’s security and safety as well as tackling transnational organised crime.
Meanwhile, Brigadier Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation (CID), confirmed that the investigation team was able to identify the suspect although he had used a different name and nationality to enter the country.
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“Once identified, he was immediately placed under our surveillance,” Al Jallaf added.
Colonel Saeed al-Qamzi, director of the Wanted Persons Department at Dubai Police, said they were able to track the suspect down despite his attempt to elude detectives with a different identity.
“Thanks to the Criminal Data Analysis Centre at Dubai Police, we were able to utlise the latest capabilities and technologies to identify Moogan,” al-Qamzi, added.
Meanwhile, Nikki Holland, NCA Director of Investigation said, the arrest is the result of years of investigation involving a range of law enforcement partners in the UK, Europe and Middle East.
“We are extremely grateful to those partners for their assistance in ensuring Moogan now faces justice and particularly thank the Dubai Police for their efforts to track him down. His extradition from the UAE is being requested,” Holland continued.
