Abu Dhabi police raid weekend gatherings

Abu Dhabi’s police have started to launch raids on suspected gatherings of Asian workers in residential and market areas at weekends following reports of involvement in gambling and other illegal activities.

Police said last week’s evening raid resulted in the arrest of several expatriates involved in 15 cases of gambling and sale of Naswar (form of Afghan tobacco placed below the lip for chewing) and mobile phones, mainly at gatherings in Madinat Zayed market place and areas close Electra Street in the heart of the city.

“They come from their housing areas outside Abu Dhabi at weekends for shopping but many of them become involved in such illegal activities, which disturb residents and shoppers. In some cases, gambling triggered fights among them,” Capital police director Brigadier Maktoum Al Shareefi said, quoted by Al Ittihad daily.

“We have decided to deploy police units at those areas and intensify patrols through residential areas and market places to curb such practices. We have also started to distribute leaflets in seven languages warning these workers against violating the law.”

Shareefi said police and the Abu Dhabi Municipality are also considering proposals to build entertainment facilities for those workers in areas where they live, including Musaffah, Shamkha and other sites outside the capital. He said such facilities could include small shopping centres, cinema houses and play fields.

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