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UAE police help foil biggest drug smuggling bid this year
UAE police help foil biggest drug smuggling bid this year Amira Agarib / 24 September 2013 More than half a billion dirhams worth of drugs have been seized by international anti-narcotics agents with help from Dubai Police, in the biggest drug haul in the world this year. The Dubai Police General Department of Anti-Narcotic helped foil an attempt to smuggle Dh500 million worth of crystal methamphetamine and Dh3.5 million worth of hashish, leading to the arrest of 10 Balochi and Iranian suspects. The operation took place in the international waters of the Indian Ocean, 360 kilometres off the coast of Somalia. During a Press conference held in the presence of Dubai Police General Department of Anti-Narcotics Director Major General Abdul Jalil Mahdi; Dubai Police Deputy Commander-in-Chief Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazina said the major operation confirmed the effectiveness of the UAE’s officials through its contribution in combating large international drug smuggling rings in the Indian Ocean. The process was fulfilled in various stages under the follow-up of Lt. General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and Dubai Police Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, he said. The operation, which actually took place in June, was top quality in terms of cooperation and coordination with the international authorities, he said. The operation began in the UAE when the Anti-narcotic Department obtained important information that a fishing vessel had left a Pakistani port for Djibouti, containing a large shipment of narcotic substances, where it intended to transfer drugs to another ship in a specific place in the waters of the Indian Ocean. The Dubai Police determined the exact location and passed details to international coalition forces.Al Mazina said a working group was formed including a number of Ministry of Interior and Dubai Police drug officers, which continued to liaise with officials up to the raid. Al Mazina said international coalition forces intercepted the ship, and raided it before discovery the drugs, which led to the arrest of the 10. On the first day, they confiscated 350kg of hashish. However on the second day, the police were passed information that there were more drugs, so forces searched again and discovered 500kg of crystal amphetamine hidden behind the engines of the ship. Al Mazina said the commander of operations of the naval forces of the international coalition expressed their gratitude to Dubai Police for their cooperation, and the good efforts in passing on the information which led to the success of the operation. Al Mazina described the seizure as a big blow to the drug traffickers of the world. He said the use of the Indian Ocean as a smuggling route reflected the importance of the big role played by the UAE in the fight against drugs not only locally and regionally, but globally as well. “Dubai police have sources and keep eyes every where to catch and strike drugs traffickers and criminals.” Al Mazina said countries would cooperate to prevent illegal trading at sea and if security forces had reasonable doubts, they would raid ships that had no flags. Because the operation did not take place in the UAE regional waters, the suspects would not be tried here, Al Mazina said. “The suspects under arrest will be handed over to the Asian country from where they came from in accordance with international sea laws.” Al Mazina said details had not been revealed earlier due to certain circumstances including requests from the countries involved. He praised efforts of all parties locally and internationally who participated in the operation, with a special mention to his team. Continue reading
Gunfire erupts after Kenya claims total control over mall
Gunfire erupts after Kenya claims total control over mall (Reuters) / 24 September 2013 Kenya said its security forces were in control of the Nairobi shopping mall where fighters killed at least 62 people, and police were doing a final sweep of shops early on Tuesday after rescuing the last hostages. An overnight silence outside the large, upmarket Westgate mall was broken at daybreak with a loud burst of gunfire from inside, suggesting the complex had not yet been fully secured. A lone military chopper circled above. “Our forces are combing the mall floor by floor looking for anyone left behind. We believe all hostages have been released,” the Ministry of Interior said on Twitter early on Tuesday, adding his forces were “in control” of the building. A trickle of survivors left on Monday, but the fate of the missing was unclear four days after a group of between 10 and 15 militants stormed the mall, which with its rich clientele epitomised the African consumer bonanza that is drawing foreign investment to one of the world’s fastest growing regions. Mohamed told the “PBS Newshour” show the Americans were “young men, about between maybe 18 and 19” years old. They were of Somali origin or Arab origin, and had lived in the US, “in Minnesota and one other place”, she said. US authorities are urgently looking into information from the Kenyan government that residents of Western countries, including the United States, may have been among the militants, US security sources said. “We do monitor very carefully and have for some time been concerned about efforts by Al Shabaab to recruit Americans or US persons to come to Somalia,” White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said. He told reporters travelling with US President Barack Obama to the United Nations in New York that he had no direct information that Americans had participated in the attack. Obama offered US support, saying he believed Kenya – the scene of one of al Qaeda’s first major attacks, in 1998, and a neighbour of chaotic Somalia – would continue to be a regional pillar of stability. Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, said the United States stood with Kenyans against “this terrible outrage.” Patience Kenyan officials have tried to reassure the country that it would seize control of the situation. “We appeal for patience, keep calm, avoid Westgate at all costs and wait for the official communication,” the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government in The Office of the President said on Twitter. A press briefing was expected later on Tuesday. Al Qaeda killed more than 200 people when it bombed the US Embassy in Nairobi in 1998. When fighters from its Somali ideological counterpart stormed the mall on Saturday, they hit a high-profile symbol of Kenya’s economic power. Kenya has sent troops to Somalia as part of an African Union force trying to stabilise the country, which was long without a functioning government, and push back Al Shabaab. It has also suffered internal instability. President Uhuru Kenyatta, who lost a nephew in the weekend bloodbath, faces charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court for his alleged role in coordinating violence after disputed elections in 2007. He denies the charges. Kenyatta has dismissed a demand that he pull Kenyan forces out of Somalia, saying he would not relent in a “war on terror.” British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said he believed six Britons had died in the attack. Other known foreign victims are from China, Ghana, France, the Netherlands and Canada. Kenyan officials said the total death toll was at least 62. Speculation rose about the identity of the attackers. Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku had earlier said they were all men but that some had dressed as women. Despite his comments, one intelligence officer and two soldiers told Reuters that one of the dead militants was a white woman, likely to fuel speculation that she is the wanted widow of one of the suicide bombers who together killed more than 50 people on London’s transport system in 2005. Called the “white widow” by the British press, Samantha Lewthwaite is wanted in connection with an alleged plot to attack hotels and restaurants in Kenya. Asked if the dead woman was Lewthwaite, the intelligence officer said: “We don’t know.” From Mali to Algeria, Nigeria to Kenya, violent millitants groups – tapping into local poverty, conflict, inequality or exclusion but espousing a similar anti-Western, anti-Christian creed – are striking at state authority and international interests, both economic and political. Continue reading
BlackBerry’s ‘next-level’ Z30 launched in Dubai
BlackBerry’s ‘next-level’ Z30 launched in Dubai Alvin R. Cabral / 24 September 2013 BlackBerry has launched its new all-touch Z30 smartphone in the Middle East on Monday, with the first units having been made available at its BlackBerry Store in The Dubai Mall late last night, as the Canadian handset maker looks to ride the momentum borne out of its latest suite of BlackBerry 10 OS-powered devices. After the exclusive launch, the Z30 will be available through BlackBerry’s partners beginning today. While the competition in the smartphone segment is getting tougher by the day, BlackBerry is “actually doing very well” especially in the Middle East, according to a top official, who pointed out that the firm is still enjoying consumers’ trust with its devices and services. “The Middle East is definitely one of our key growth markets… because people trust us and have utmost confidence in BlackBerry,” Mike Al Mefleh, senior director of Product Management and Platform – Software Services at BlackBerry, told Khaleej Times in an interview. “We laid out the foundation with our OS 10 devices and we took it to the next level.” He pointed out that BlackBerry provides important aspects in mobile computing — security, integrity, privacy and reliability — components that are critical especially in today’s fast-paced and broader world of mobile computing. “As a consumer you want your information available to you, and we provide that,” Al Mefleh said, pointing out that its flagship BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM, continues to enjoy the support of users especially here in the region. “Consumers enjoy BBM because it is very secure and very private, unlike other social media apps,” he said, adding that in the Middle East, BBM’s penetration rate is at 98 per cent, and even 99 per cent in some countries. New flagship Z30 Last week, BlackBerry — the former Research In Motion — released a statement from its Waterloo What’s new in the z30? BlackBerry has touted its new all-touch Z30 smartphone as its “biggest, fastest and most advanced”. Here’s the lowdown: BlackBerry Priority Hub — You can now learn what conversations and what people are important to you making it fast and easy to find the messages and information you need. BBM now in any app and message previews everywhere — You can now get a preview of any message as it arrives in whatever app you’re using, and immediately dismiss it or tap it to read the full content and respond. Stereo audio and BlackBerry Natural Sound — The Z30 smartphone comes with stereo speakers that immerse you in your sounds, and makes conversations look like it’s face-to-face. New antennae technology — A new-generation antennae technology dynamically tunes reception to give better connectivity in low-signal areas. headquarters that it would be launching its Z30 smartphone this week in the Middle East and the United Kingdom, with other regions to follow soon. It comes after the company released its new devices running the latest BlackBerry 10 OS — the all-touch Z10 and the touch-and-type Q10 and Q5. Most recently, it unveiled the 9720 that runs on OS 7. The Z30 will be its “biggest, fastest and most advanced” smartphone to date, featuring BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2, a five-inch Super Amoled display, a 1.7GHz processor with quad-core graphics and the largest battery — 2880mAh — yet on a BlackBerry device. It has four stereo speakers with BlackBerry Natural Sound, a new-generation BlackBerry Paratek Antennae that gives faster data transfers and many other features. Demonstrating the Z30, Al Mefleh says that the company continues to highlight its BlackBerry Hub — the “centre of communications” — on the phone, which has been well-received by users. Enhanced as the BlackBerry Priority Hub, it is now able to list the most important messages and collects priority messages. It also has a new attachment button to save time when sending files. He said that the BlackBerry Hub — as it has always been — is a “shift and transformation in making life easier for users”. A new notification feature has also been added on the Z30; for example, a message can be read and replied to while browsing, without closing the latter. This feature can also be disabled for privacy reasons. And good news for those considering a BlackBerry for their next phone: Al Mefleh confirmed that the Z30 will now be able to run more apps based on Google’s Android operating system, a welcome development in the cross-platform arena. He added that the number of apps available for the OS 10 on the BlackBerry AppWorld site is now up from an initial 50,000 to 140,000, meaning that users have a broader choice — and more reasons to get themselves a BlackBerry. Its typing and browsing feature was touted by Al Mefleh, calling it “the best typing and browsing experience… we keep improving and mastering this”. He says that continuing to improve user experience on a smartphone “is the future; we continue to make life easier and simpler”. “We have enjoyed the success of the BlackBerry OS 10. Since we introduced it, we have seen that… people have liked what we’ve given them.” Al Mefleh was confident that the Z30 — selling for Dh2,499 — will be met positively by consumers. And when asked on what other devices are to be launched in 2013, he reiterated an earlier announcement this year that BlackBerry was slated to roll out six new ones. “You know what we’ve launched; you do the math,” he said candidly. – alvin@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
