Dubai businessman robbed by caller from abroad

Five Pakistani visitors and a tailor allegedly threatened an Indian businessman in a bar, asking him to hand them over money he possessed, the Dubai Criminal Court heard.

While NB, 47, was sitting in a bar at around 3pm on October 24, he was surprised as six men pulled chairs and sat at the same table.

“One of them called a person overseas and handed me the mobile. The person at the other end threatened to kill me if I did not give the men who were sitting at my table all money in my possession. I got scared and did what I was asked to do. They took the Dh14,000 I had and left the bar. I called the police and informed them about the incident, then approached Al Rifaa police station and lodged a complaint,” the victim testified.

Police investigated the complaint and found out that a gang of seven or more Pakistanis headed by a compatriot who is currently overseas and called AA or AS used to rob people in coordination with MA who worked as a tailor for Dubai Police. The role of the tailor was to find businessmen and after finding their contact numbers, he supplied them to his overseas accomplice. AA would call the prey from his overseas number, demanding that he pay money to men who will come to him or are around him, after threatening to kill if he did not.

Police arrested the tailor MA and questioned him about his relation to his overseas compatriot AA. MA admitted knowing AA who is currently in his country and that he regularly talked to him.

When confronted with the victim’s complaint, MA denied knowing anything about it. Police reached the other Pakistani who was living in a flat in Naif area. The flat was raided and five visitors were arrested.

The accused identified as QA, 45, MT, 36, SI, 25, SZ, 39, and ZF, 39 told investigators that they came to the UAE on the request of AA who had asked them to meet the tailor MA. They admitted going to a hotel’s bar while AA was talking to them over the phone and asked them to give the mobile phone to a man sitting at one of the tables. AA talked to the victim and after that he gave them the money that was in his possession.

The victim recognised all the six accused. The accused had similar criminal records and had been convicted of threatening others for which they had been sentenced to three months in prison followed by deportation.

The Court will give its verdict on February 13.
 

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