“Israel is setting up a permanent police presence in the UAE to tackle a surge in Israeli gangsters in the Gulf state, an unprecedented act of co-operation after the two nations formalised ties just a year ago.”
“Members of some of Israel’s biggest gangs, such as the Hariri and Chaya families, are believed to be taking advantage of the thaw in relations to expand their crime networks in the United Arab Emirates away from the watchful eyes of Israeli authorities.”
“The gangs – both Arab and Jewish – are said to be running increasingly sophisticated prostitution, drug dealing and money laundering operations in the Islamic country, which was previously off limits to Israelis without a second passport.”
“But improved relations, following the signing of the historic Abraham Accords in September 2020, means that an Israeli police attache will be established at the Consulate in Dubai in the coming weeks, the Telegraph can reveal.”
“Though there is as yet no extradition agreement, the two sides are said to be working closely to track down gang members.”
“An Israeli police source said the new attache would be vital in the ongoing development of relations between the two countries. But he called for more officers to follow: “The question is, will one attache be enough?””
“One of the biggest criminals suspected of being in Dubai is Eran Chaya, the son of mafia boss Eitan Chaya, dubbed “the Israeli Godfather” in New York.”
“US-born Mr Chaya, 37, grew up in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, where he was a gifted science student.”
“Dubbed “The American”, he runs a global network from the Middle East to Latin America and is believed to now be exploiting closer ties between the UAE and Israel to boost his network.”
“Others suspected of being in the UAE include two members of the Arab Israeli Hariri family, a huge criminal network known for money laundering, weapons and drug trafficking.”
“The Israeli police source said he had seen one of the members attending parties at a villa popular among criminal gangs. The new police presence marks a turning point in the relationship between the two formerly frosty nations. Since flights began in November, around 240,000 Israelis have visited the UAE.”
“The security collaboration also stands in stark contrast to the events of 2010, when Israeli Mossad officials dressed as tennis players and assassinated a Hamas commander, Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel.”
“The assassination also enraged several other nations including the UK, which expelled an Israeli diplomat after discovering 12 forged British passports were used for the operation.”
“Normalisation has not been met with universal approval in the UAE, with the influx of mobsters described as a “headache”.”
““Many are focused on the gains of normalisation which are obvious and tangible, but tend to shy away from seeing the many pains associated with it,“ said Dr Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati political commentator who opposes the normalisation process.”
““Normalisation comes with a price and this is just one,” he added.”
Read more: Israeli police to be permanently based in UAE in historic first (archived)
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