Picture used for illustrative purposes.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The General Department of Anti-Narcotics in Dubai Police has launched the second edition of the 'Anonymous Messages' Campaign, which begins today (Friday) and runs until the 28th of November, in cooperation with "Al Ameen" Service, under the motto: "No engagement…No Reply…No Repost".

Be Cautious

Brigadier Khalid Bin Muwaiza, Acting Director of the General Department of Anti-Narcotics, emphasised the significant role of parents in raising their children's awareness of the dangers of drugs and protect them against cybercriminals who exploit the social media platforms to promote drugs, and advise them what to do if they receive such messages.

He also pointed out that the community members' interaction and communication with the Dubai Police, whether through the Dubai Police's toll-free number 901 or the "e-crime" online platform, reflects the public's awareness and keenness to enhance community security.

"During the first half of this year, the e-crime platform received about 2,222 reports on anonymous messages, while 527 dealers were arrested during the same period. The arrest of one dealer could solve a large number of reports," Brig. Bin Muwaiza added.

Campaign Objectives

Brig. Bin Muwaiza pointed out that the launch of the second edition of the "Anonymous Messages" campaign comes, as per the directives of Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, to fight against such activity through two ways; the first is awareness-raising through Hemaya International Centre in cooperation with partners, whereas the second one is through combating the dealers on the ground. He also reaffirmed the readiness of the General Department of Anti-Narcotics at Dubai Police to work round the clock and combat the scourge of drugs.

Risks and Concerns

"We pay extra attention to the public comments and reports on these types of messages. The most frequent complaints indicated that no matter how many times they blocked these numbers, the messages keep coming from different ones," Brig. Bin Muwaiza continued.

"This was expected as the criminals and dealers are developing new techniques and take advantage of the latest technologies to reach addicts, in particular, and members of the public, in general," he explained. "The criminals would typically share GPS coordinates of the location of the drugs, which were usually buried in the ground in remote areas," he added.

"Although we spare no effort to combat this phenomenon, the concerns that these messages succeeded in getting a response from people out of curiosity, especially the adolescents, still remain an issue.

However, through this campaign, the Dubai Police aim to raise the awareness of the parents to educate their children on the dangers of replying to these messages, whether that from legal or health aspects. The Force urges the public to contact the police, report these messages through e-crime platforms, and block the numbers," he continued.

Arresting "The Bat"

The highly-skilled officers at the General Department of Anti-Narcotics arrested "The Bat", the right-hand man of one of the most cunning international drug-trafficking network leaders, who promotes and sells illegal substances and narcotics through social media platforms.

"The gang has been taking extra cautions to carry out their operations and burying the drugs in remote areas across the emirates," "Yet, through extensive investigation, the Force managed to identify the "The Bat" and arrested him in an operation that lasted ten days, and seized 200kg of toxins in his possession," he added.

Mystery Solved

Commenting on the details of the operation, The Acting Director of the General Department of Anti-Narcotics said that after the Anti-Narcotics officers arrested a number of Asian drug dealers and located several hidden stashes of narcotics, the Department, through interrogations of the criminals, came across the fact that a third-party dealer, who was known among them as "The Bat", has been distributing a large number of drugs.

However, the dealers never knew the identity of The Bat, who has been operating inside the emirate on behalf of an international drug-trafficking network. The Dubai Police formed an investigation team to take down the mysterious dealer.

They suspected a man in his thirties, who, after being caught red-handed, pretended to be a mere addict to draw suspicions away. Nevertheless, the Department identified him as "The Bat" in no time and discovered that he owned two vehicles.

One he used for his daily operations, and the second was found covered in dust in a parking lot where he lives and used as a storage for the drugs.