New Delhi, May 30 :    New Delhi, May 30:  The CBI scored a major victory today with UAE deporting Bangalore's most-wanted criminal Muthappa Rai. The Dubai-based gangster is the third wanted man to be deported to India. After detaining him, the UAE got in touch with the CBI and decided against initiating extradition proceedings as they can take several months and rule against handing over the wanted person. 'By deporting Aftab Ansari and Muthappa Rai, the UAE has cut down the red tape and signalled a political shift in its attitude towards India,' a senior official said. Officials in North Block believe that after September 11, Gulf states have taken a tough stand against both criminals and terrorists. They are afraid that extremists could be a future threat to their governments. 'The UAE has made it very clear that it does not want Dubai, Sharjah or Abu Dhabi to be treated as a safe haven for criminals or terrorists. They know there is a thin dividing line between terrorists and criminals and want to make it difficult for them to work out of the region,' a senior official said. Rai had fled to the UAE in 1997 and controlled a huge criminal empire from there. He had his personal website in Kannada, where he asked people interested in crime to join him and get in touch with his men in India. The CBI had issued a red-corner notice against Rai to Interpol for his arrest in June 2000, but nothing much happened. However, since the beginning of the year, there has been a marked change in UAE's position on cooperation with India. 'We don't know what caused this but we are extremely happy with the cooperation the UAE has extended to us,' a senior CBI official said. In January, Aftab Ansari, the man behind the Calcutta shootout, was handed over to the CBI along with a colleague. Instead of going through the long process of extradition, the two were simply deported. About a month ago, India handed over Roshana Ansari, a UAE national who had fled to India after killing Muna Ahmed Omar al Minnani, who was reportedly her father's mistress. She was traced to Bangalore and turned over to UAE police. This time, it was UAE's turn to help. The 40-something Rai led a gang of 200-300 criminals indulging in extortion and murder in Karnataka. They entered into a bitter gang rivalry with Sridhar, another dreaded mafia leader operating out of the state. Sridhar had tried to take Rai's place after he left for Dubai. There have been suggestions that Rai has links with Dawood Ibrahim. But the CBI has no confirmation on this.