Joint Pakistan-UAE operation: Kingpin among 40 members of drug cartel arrested

[Al Bhatti]

July 14, 2015

The drug lord, Aqil Khan, was running the operation from his hometown in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Kingpin among 40 members of drug cartel arrested
150kg of heroin recovered from the gang which targeted UAE residents

Dubbed ‘the most dangerous drug network in the region’, 40 members of a gang were arrested and 150kg of heroin seized, the Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday.

Led by a notorious Pakistani drug lord called Aqil Khan, who was running the operation from his hometown of Peshawar, the network targeted UAE citizens and residents in addition to neighbouring countries.

“A number of drug-related reports and cases have arisen recently, resulting in tens of drug promoters and users being caught. Upon investigating further, one main ‘exclusive distributor’ was identified. He was found to be outside the country and had recruited tens of promoters inside the UAE,” Colonel Saeed Abdullah Al Suwaidi, Director-General, Anti-Narcotics Federal Directorate General at the ministry, said.

“Lt Gen Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, was soon updated about the difficulties that authorities had faced in reaching the mastermind behind the operation in addition to the severe damage to citizens and residents that this gang had caused. He then called for the collaboration of efforts to apprehend the leader and his criminal network,” he added.

Upon setting up a carefully devised plan and an operation titled ‘Combating at a distance’, 40 drug mules and promoters and 80 drug users were caught in addition to 150kg of heroin, the police said.

All of those apprehended were working under Aqil Khan who had served jail time in Abu Dhabi in 2012 before being deported.

“The ring leader had targeted the UAE basing this decision on the relations he had developed with a number of addicts during his stay in the country. He expanded his criminal activities in Pakistan over the past two years significantly. He was finally named one of the most dangerous providers of heroin to the local and Gulf market. His confidence had reached the extent that anybody could call him directly without needing a middle man or prior knowledge of Khan, in order to ask for a shipment to be delivered to the location of the drug user,” Col Al Suwaidi said.

The official revealed that users were required, upon calling Khan, to transfer an amount of money to him. They would then receive a phone call that would inform them where to find the drugs and this made the matter more complicated as no face-to-face interaction occurred.

The fact that the drugs had to pass through several security check points required that a federal team be set up to target the drug lord in his hometown. In collaboration with the Pakistani authorities and by isolating Khan’s assistants, in addition to identifying his geographical location, the drug lord was caught and the gang’s members were all placed behind bars, the police added.

Some of the victims are being rehabilitated.

Residents are all urged to call 80044, the ministry’s new ‘Mukafih’ hotline to combat any suspicious drug activity

Kingpin among 40 members of drug cartel arrested | GulfNews.com

 

[Al Bhatti]

July 15, 2015

UAE-Pakistan 'Remote Countering' nets deported drug lord in his den
40 traffickers and promoters, as well as 80 drug addicts arrested

UAE Ministry of Interior along with its Pakistani counterpart has busted the most dangerous regional network for trafficking and smuggling heroin.

The network, run by Pakistani national Akil Khan from his premises in his home town Peshawar, comprised more than 40 Asians.

They targeted residents of the UAE and its neighbouring countries.

Colonel Saeed Abdullah Al Suwaidi, Director-General, Anti-Narcotics Federal Directorate General, Ministry of Interior, said investigations revealed that all the drugs came from a single source – from one exclusive distributor.

The gang leader ran his operations via phone from abroad after he recruited dozens of promoters in the UAE. He said, the operation dubbed ‘Remote Countering’, led to the arrest of 40 traffickers and promoters as well as 80 drug addicts; and seizure of 150 kilograms of heroin.

The arrested suspects were working under the supervision and direction of Khan, who served a prison sentence in Abu Dhabi in 2012 and was deported.

The network was run by Pakistani national Akil Khan (right) from his premises in his home town Peshawar. Left: Another one of the accused arrested. (Supplied)

Upon returning home, he established and operated the gang from his home in Pakistan.

“Khan was seemingly unaware that the UAE is capable of effectively countering crime that affects the security of its society – regardless of the threat’s origin. The breadth of our capabilities stretch across the continents,” said Col. Al Suwaidi.

“Based on his extensive relationships with the drug addicts he had established during his time in the UAE, Khan expanded his criminal activity over the past two years until it became a concern of security for the anti-narcotics departments in the UAE and neighbouring countries.

"Khan’s name was listed as one of the most dangerous financiers of heroin in the UAE and throughout the Gulf. He reached a level of insolence and self-confidence, thinking he had immunity, he allowed anyone to contact him directly without the need for a middleman or having to have been previously introduced to him.

"He would then provide the drugs to the addicts by having it delivered to them. He gained the trust and confidence of the addicts by his quick delivery and service to their nearest locations,” Col. Al Suwaidi said.

Col. Al Suwaidi added that the operation took an unconventional turn as it passed through various stages of highly confidential joint security work, which resulted in the formation of a federal team in order to target the suspect in his home in Pakistan in coordination with the Pakistani authorities.

The criminal approach in the promotion of narcotics was creative in the fact that it entailed a sum of money to be transferred from the addict to the gang leader in Pakistan – all without access to any middleman or knowing the date of delivery or the person responsible for extraditing it.

"Following the financial transfer, the addict then awaits a phone call from Pakistan where they will be guided to the location where the drugs are hidden,” said Col. Al Suwaidi.

He said such a methodology proved challenging for the security bodies, as they were prevented from being able to monitor receipt and delivery operations that are usually associated with conventional face-to-face transactions.

The international cooperative efforts between the UAE security bodies and their counterparts in Pakistan not only led to the capture of gang leader in his den in Peshawar, but also led to the arrest of three of his accomplices whom had 10 kilograms of heroin, said Col. Al Suwaidi.

The Anti-Narcotics Federal Directorate General expressed its deepest appreciation for the role played by its Pakistani counterparts and for their immediate cooperation with the efforts that benefitted both countries. The directorate also called upon the public not to hesitate to report any criminal activity related to drug trafficking by calling the toll-free number for ‘Mukafih’ service 80044.

UAE-Pakistan 'Remote Countering' nets deported drug lord in his den - Emirates 24|7