DUBAI — Dubai police on Wednesday busted 20 African gangs for committing blackmailing and cyber extortion crimes as well as fraudulent activities against social media users as part of its operation “Shadow”.

Revealing the details of the operation, Maj. Gen. Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs at Dubai Police, said the force has recently arrested a married couple who deceived social media users by posing as a recruitment agency for domestic helpers.

Al Mansouri attributed the success of both operations to the efforts and professionalism of the General Department of Criminal Investigations (CID) who utilized the latest technologies at the Criminal Data Analysis Centre of Dubai Police.

Brigadier Jamal Al Jallaf, Director of CID at Dubai Police, revealed that they had received a reliable tip-off about some African gangs who lured men by posting and sharing photos of girls on social media platforms and via e-mails.

"When the victim arrives at the specified address, he would find a different girl than the one he had chatted with online" Al Jallaf said.

"The gang would threaten victims and take their belongings including mobile phones and credit cards after they take pictures of the men in indecent positions and threaten to post their videos online and share it with the victims' contacts if they report the matter to the authorities. The victims would end up sharing their mobile phone passcodes and credit card security pins, and paying huge amounts to avoid being defamed online and among their family members", he added.

Lt. Col. Abdullah Mohammed, head of Criminal Investigation Department at Dubai Police, said a team was formed immediately upon receiving the tip-off, and a thorough plan was set up to apprehend the 47 African suspects — 10 women and 37 men. He confirmed that comprehensive investigations have led to the arrest of suspects in Dubai and in a nearby emirate, and they that had been renting flats under fake IDs so they won't get caught.

Brigadier Jamal Al Jallaf revealed another fraud case involving a married couple, of an Arab nationality, who claimed that they could bring domestic helpers into the country despite the shutdown of airports imposed by the recently completed National Sterilization Program. He noted that 46 people had fallen victims to the online fraudsters who lured victims with expedited procedures for only AED 3,000 in recruitment fees.

"During the National Sterilization Program, the Smart Police Station (SPS) received several reports against anonymous for defrauding victims and posing as representatives of a labor recruitment agency promising victims with domestic helpers," the director of CID explained.

"Task teams were formed to investigate the reports and track down the suspects with the aid of available digital forensics tools," "Soon after, our investigation teams gathered the necessary information and pinned down the married fraudsters," Brig. Al Jallaf continued.

"The couple confessed to their crimes and revealed that they had been scamming families across the emirates by exploiting the suspension of labor recruitment during the National Sterilization Program and taking advantage of people's need for help during the quarantine period," he concluded.

The Dubai Police General HQ has called upon members of the public to remain vigilant when using social media platforms and not to fall prey to online cybercriminals and scammers. — WAM