Dubai Police arrest UK fugitive Michael Paul Moogan in the UAE

Dubai Police have arrested 35-year-old Michael Paul Moogan in the UAE, a man wanted by the National Crime Agency (NCA) – UK for eight years, for his alleged role in a large-scale international drug trafficking plot in the UK.

Moogan who comes from Croxteth, Liverpool, was apprehended in Dubai as part of Operation Captura shortly after Dubai Police received a Red Notice from Interpol for his arrest.

The operation saw the police coordinate their efforts with the NCA to arrest Moogan who has 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, reported UAE state-run news agency WAM.

Major General Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs said that a team was formed comprising of elite officers of the Wanted Persons Department and the Criminal Data Analysis Centre in the General Department of Criminal Investigation (CID).

“Upon receiving a Red Notice from Interpol, Moogan was placed under intense surveillance and all his movements were monitored by the investigation unit,” said Al Mansouri.

He added that the officers from Dubai Police relied on several means of technology to correctly identify him, locate his place of residence, and subsequently arrest him.

Brigadier Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation (CID), said that had used a different name and nationality to enter the country. “Thanks to the Criminal Data Analysis Centre at Dubai Police, we were able to utlise the latest capabilities and technologies to identify Moogan,” said Colonel Saeed al-Qamzi, director of the Wanted Persons Department at Dubai Police.

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,” added Holland.

The Dubai Police have cooperated with international police agencies in helping extradite 52 international wanted people involved in serious crimes such as terrorism, organised crime, money laundering, murder and drugs. They were wanted in several countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Sweden, Australia, Pakistan, India, and China, among other countries.

In one of the more notable arrests earlier this year, Dubai Police arrested Moufide ‘Mouf’ Bouchibi, a French drug lord involved in drug trafficking and smuggling operations across Europe. Bouchibi, also known as ‘The Ghost’, had, like Moogan, also been travelling under a false identity.

Read: Dubai Police nabs French drug lord ‘The Ghost’