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103,346 illegals held in Dubai in five years

DUBAI — The Dubai Police announced the arrest of 103,346 violators of law from November 2000 up to the end of 2005.

Of those nabbed by the Dubai Police’s Criminal Investigation Department, 79,000 violators were held for entering the country and staying illegally, 10,000 for entering the country and staying after the visa or residency permits had expired, and 13,000 were accused of absconding from their sponsors.

“Around 38,062 offenders were caught in Dubai in 2005. Of them, 23,181 wereinfiltrators,” said Dubai Police Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant-General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim yesterday during a ceremony to honour the personnel of the taskforce for checking violations.

A group of personnel were also promoted.

“A majority of those violators had no identification papers or passports and they posed a real threat to the state because they sneaked into the country from its borders with Oman, but they were arrested in Dubai,” he added.

He announced that he planned to hold meetings with security agencies to urge them to play a real role in checking violators and infiltrators.

He noted that only 380 out of the arrested infiltrators of 23,000 entered the country fromDubai.

“This is a big loophole and we should all work together to plug it,” he stressed.

He hoped that each emirate would have an anti-violation taskforce so that the phenomenon is eradicated. Brigadier Khamis Mattar Bal Mezaina, Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said the team was formulated in 2000 following a series of crimes committed by violators and infiltrators.

“The team started its mission with 11personnel,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tamim announced the promotion of Colonel Khalil Ibrahim to the post of Deputy Director of CID to succeed Brigadier Mohammed Ahmed Al Muri who became Director-General of the Dubai Department of Naturalisation and Residency.

• UAE