Dubai restaurant owner 'head of drugs gang'

  DUBAI - The owner of a restaurant in Dubai's Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) has been named as the head of a gang suspected of running a drug smuggling ring in three countries. Koder Jomaa, 47, was arrested on Monday along with four other men suspected of  being members of the drug syndicate that operated in Dubai, Australia and the Netherlands. Jomaa owns the The Fit Kitchen in JLT. Australian Police said the Jomaa family in Sydney has allegedly been involved in drug crime for years. “We allege this man was actually the head of the syndicate. He is well-known to law enforcement and previously thought that he could flee from authorities and conduct his criminal enterprise offshore,” said Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner Neil Gaughan. Jomaa's brothers, Ali and Abbas, were among those arrested in coordinated raids in Sydney. In The Netherlands, authorities seized 1.8 tonnes of illegal drugs worth Dh2.4 billion. In Dubai, Jomaa was among five men arrested last week after being suspected of involvement in a plot to smuggle the 1.8 tonnes of drugs into Australia. Commander in Chief of Dubai Police Major General Abdulla Al Marri said the men were arrested in two separate raids at JLT and Dubai Marina. “They did not try to resist their capture when they were arrested,” he said. Among those arrested with Jomaa were brothers Fadi and Michael Ibrahim, Mustapha Dib and Stephen Elmir, all Australian nationals.
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