DUBAI // The number of human-trafficking cases in the emirate almost halved last year, police said Thursday.
And they reported that they were able to recover almost Dh29.7 million in wages owed to workers.
“We can see a noticeable decrease in the number of cases related to human trafficking,” said Maj Gen Abdul Al Obaidli, assistant commander for quality and excellence at Dubai Police.
“There were 35 cases in 2010, and the number decreased to 24 in 2011 and 21 in 2012. Last year there was a considerable decrease in the number of human-trafficking cases as it stood at 11.”
Gen Al Obaidli was addressing an annual conference discussing police performance in battling the crime.
In the 11 cases last year there were 13 victims – a considerable drop from 37 in 2012.
Three of last year’s victims were under 18, three between 19 and 26, and seven were aged 26 or older.
The number of people accused of being involved in trafficking dropped to 28 – including 10 women – from 62 over the same period.
Forty-one men and 21 women were accused in 2012.
“If the numbers are any reassurance, it shows the success of the strategy in combating human trafficking,” Gen Al Obaidli said.
“Dubai Police was quickly notified of these cases and was able to arrest those involved.
“Some have received a sentence of 10 years in jail.”
He stressed that those involved in human-trafficking cases acted individually and were not part of organised criminal gangs.
One case that stuck out last year, police said, was of a young woman who tried to sell her six-month-old for Dh6,000.
The conference heard that the Asian expatriate was caught in an undercover operation.
After being notified that she wanted to sell her child for the original amount, undercover police contacted her, and negotiated the price down to Dh4,000.
The women then met officers in an unmarked police car and was arrested after accepting the cash.
A subsequent police investigation found the woman had been in a sexual relationship with a Pakistani expatriate to whom she was not married.
She was jailed for three years and will be deported after completing her sentence.
The conference also heard that Dubai Police stopped 34 labour strikes last year, a decrease from 45 in 2012.
Of those, 31 were stopped peacefully. Most strikes were because workers said they were not being given their entitlements or being paid on time.
Police were able to recover Dh29,696,541 of wages owed.
There was an increase of complaints from workers last year, at 1,005, compared with 748 in 2012. Of last year’s complaints, 843 were made by individuals and 162 were part of a larger group.
And 426 were from workers who said they had problems being paid.
Meanwhile, Dubai Police also announced the launch of new smart service to help monitor the situations of temporary workers.
“This system will make easier the process of documenting and following up on complaints of union workers,” said Maj Gen Al Obaidli.
“Complaints can be received via hotline, email, or personal presence, following which they will be answered within five working days.”
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
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THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5