Emirates: The Dubai Police prevented the loss of billions of dirhams with the arrest of 97 “dangerous criminals” in 2020, the force has said.

According to the Criminal Investigation Department’s statistical analysis, the arrests prevented the loss of Dh11.8 billion.

Two ‘fox hunt’ operations helped the force arrest 21 cyber criminals last year. Combined, these criminals would have caused losses of Dh5.8 billion, the police said.

In Operation ‘Fox Hunt 1’, the police arrested an African gang of nine cyber-scammers that had run 81 fake businesses across 18 countries. The operation revealed a hidden online fraud network that managed to siphon off more than Dh32 million worth of money transfers.

Operation ‘Fox Hunt 2’ resulted in the arrest of 12 cybercriminals, including one nicknamed Hushpuppi and another, Woodberry. This operation foiled a fraud plan worth Dh1.6 billion. Crimes committed by the gang outside the UAE included money laundering, cyber fraud, hacking, impersonation, scams, banking fraud and identity theft.

The police also busted a fake inheritance scam and helped prevent the loss of Dh5.9 billion.