Police have uncovered four cases of human trafficking involving 16 people in the first half of this year, new figures show.
Col Sultan al Jamal, director of the Dubai Police human trafficking control centre, said the net was closing on the criminal networks operating in the UAE.
Statistics indicate the number of trafficking offences in the Emirates is dropping. In 2016 there were six reported cases involving 10 victims and 18 suspects traffickers.
And in the first half of 2017, authorities reported four cases involving four victims and nine suspects.
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“Strict laws and severe punishments as well as special operations against the traffickers are bringing the number of offences down," said Col al Jamal.
"The centre offers specialised programmes that aim to increase detection rates of human trafficking crimes."
He added that many of the victims of trafficking had been provided with legal and financial support.
