Dubai Police arrested 41 individuals of Arab nationality involved in a coordinated begging operation that was allegedly run from a hotel in the city. The suspects had entered the UAE on visit visas and were using the location as their base to carry out illegal solicitation disguised as religious charity.
The arrests were part of a focused security operation called Al-Misbah—meaning “prayer bead” in Arabic—spearheaded by the Department of Suspects and Criminal Phenomena under the General Department of Criminal Investigation.
The operation was launched after the 901 call centre received a tip-off about individuals begging on the streets while selling prayer beads and accessories. Officers from the Monitoring and Analysis Section conducted surveillance and quickly apprehended three suspects on the spot.
Interrogations revealed the three were part of a wider group. Police then coordinated with the hotel’s management and arrested 28 more suspects of the same nationality. Ten others were caught the next day while trying to flee the premises.
A total of over Dh60,000 was found in their possession.
Police confirmed that the entire group admitted to working together in a planned begging scheme. Legal proceedings are now underway.
As part of their ongoing campaign against such activities, Dubai Police reminded residents to support the needy through accredited charitable organizations only. The public is encouraged to report suspicious activity by calling 901, using the “Police Eye” on the Dubai Police app, or flagging incidents via the E-Crime platform.
Authorities emphasized that exploiting public sympathy—especially during religious periods—through deceptive means is a criminal offence under UAE law.
