Police in Dubai have arrested ‘The Tiger’ – the most-wanted Spanish cocaine trafficker – as a crackdown on drug traffickers in the emirate continues.’

Footage from Spain’s Civil Guard shared on 11th December shows the moment police in Dubai surrounded the home of 44-year-old Alejandro Salgado Vega, nicknamed El Tigre (The Tiger).

The Civil Guard said it had dismantled part of the criminal organisation led by El Tigre – “the most active Spanish drug trafficker internationally in cocaine trafficking”.

In total, seven arrests were made.

The Civil Guard said all seven detainees were “directly related to the introduction of 2,000 kilogrammes of cocaine through the port of Algeciras two years ago”.

The Civil Guard’s investigation found that El Tigre lived in Dubai, from where he “controlled a global cocaine trafficking network with presence on five continents”.

The cocaine originated in South America and was then shipped to ports all around the world.

The Civil Guard said El Tigre “led a life of extremely high standards” and went “unnoticed among the rest of the population”.

But the Spanish force had been investigating him for several years and shared information on him with the Dubai Police.

Dubai Police officers arrested him in late August following a local investigation and shared details of his arrest with the Civil Guard.

A court in Algeciras issued an international arrest warrant for him, which the Civil Guard described as a “milestone of enormous relevance”.

El Tigre is reportedly one of a number of high-value targets recently arrested in the Emirate of Dubai, which was, until recently, considered a haven for drug traffickers.