Story By: Lee Bullen,Sub Editor: Joseph Golder,Agency: Central European News
The leader of the ‘Colin Gunn’ gang wanted in the UK for illegally trading drugs and weapons has been arrested in Dubai.
Dubai Police said they had been monitoring British suspect Craig Martin Moran, 38, for several days before the arrest.
Police spokesperson Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri said they had received an alert from Interpol to arrest Moran, who was jailed for life by UK authorities for a series of crimes related to the illegal trade of drugs and weapons.
According to Dubai Police, the suspect has a criminal record in the UK since he was 16 years old and was sent to prison several times after an armed robbery at a jewellery store in Nottingham in September 2003 that left the shop owner Marian Bates, 64, dead.
Moran, who was 22 years old at the time of the murder, was charged with conspiracy to rob the shop.
He has reportedly been handed over to the UK authorities after he appeared before the Dubai Public Prosecution.
Al Merri said: “Dubai Police is keen to fight organised crimes and take necessary action against them. We work to strengthen the bonds between UAE and other countries in fighting organised crime, to have societies that are free from drugs and weapon-trading.
“The arrest of the Colin Gunn ring-leader came following a full monitoring of his movement by Dubai Police officers after we received the red warrant. He was arrested [by setting] a trap.”
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) spokesperson Brigadier Jamal Al Jallaf said: “Moran was arrested inside his car as soon as he left his residence. The operation was carried out in a highly professional manner.”
Dubai Police said in a statement: “The British authorities confirmed that the Colin Gunn ringleader is considered a ‘danger person’ as he was involved in crimes threatening the security of the British community such as trading in illegal drugs and weapons.”
Saeed Al Qemzi, director of the police’s Wanted Department, said that Moran has been involved in organised crime since he was 16 years old.
He added: “He went to jail many times in the past. He spent 13 years in jail in connection with an armed robbery at a jewellery shop at Nottingham which resulted in the death of a jeweller. He was convicted by Nottingham Court for selling illegal drugs worth millions of pounds.”
Moran was released from prison last year, but allegedly committed several crimes in the UK and a life sentence was issued along with the Interpol alert.
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