Dubai has become a hub for international business and a utopia for tourists but it is also known as a haven for crime lords on the run from their home countries. One such mobster, who has been on the Interpol’s most wanted list, has finally been brought to justice after successfully avoiding arrest for years. A recent court verdict has sentenced him to thirty years of imprisonment after he was found guilty of cocaine trafficking. In this article, we will delve into the life of this notorious criminal, his criminal activities and how he managed to evade the authorities for so many years.
Michael Moogan, a 37-year-old from Liverpool, spent eight years on the run before finally being apprehended in Dubai. He fled the UK in October 2013 after Dutch police raided a cafe that was used as a meeting point by drug traffickers. Following his capture, he confessed to conspiring to import Class A drugs and was given a 12-year prison sentence at Manchester Crown Court.
According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), Moogan was one of the UK’s most wanted criminals during his eight years on the run. He was linked to a cafe in Rotterdam, which served as a hub for his conspiracy to import hundreds of kilos of cocaine into the UK every month. The cafe, which was not open to the public and had an intercom to allow entry, was bugged by Dutch police, who took secret video footage of those entering and exiting.
The NCA also claimed that Moogan and his associates were involved in plans to import drugs from Latin America to Europe. Moogan paid up to €500,000 at a time to South American suppliers, who shipped the Class A drugs to Belgium. He then used road networks across Europe to move cocaine to the UK. Moogan told his contacts that he brought cocaine into the UK in meat from Argentina and evidence showed he also bribed port officials.
Upon being apprehended, Moogan reportedly told an arresting officer that he would be “no trouble” and requested to be taken to Manchester and placed in a Category A prison. He then spent months using false identities to avoid detection.
During his sentencing, Judge Paul Lawton accused Moogan of entering the “world of crime at Premier League level” and flooding the UK with cocaine, thereby enabling organised crime groups to ply their trade with all its inherent violence and associated criminality.
After sentencing, the NCA’s senior investigating officer, Ben Rutter, stated that Moogan was a major figure in international drug dealing and that his consignments brought “misery and real harm” to the UK. Rutter added that Moogan had done everything in his power to evade justice, but “justice has finally caught up with him”.
The case serves as a reminder of the international nature of drug trafficking and the challenges that law enforcement authorities face in tracking down and apprehending such criminals. However, the successful extradition and prosecution of Moogan also underscore the importance of collaboration between law enforcement agencies across borders in fighting transnational organised crime.
