Thieves held for stealing underground water

Police in the eastern oasis town of Al Ain arrested two men founded to be stealing underground water and selling it to local farmers, the Abu Dhabi-based Arabic language daily 'Al Ittihad' reported on Sunday.

Police and municipality inspectors who raided a suspected house in the city found several tankers loading water from 10 artesian wells dug inside the house in Zakher area. In the nearby Masoud area, they found water production and  treatment equipment inside a house.

Officials said the two houses were raided after reports from local residents about a large increase in water tanker traffic in that area.“Residents told us that they started suddenly to see many water tankers in their area and that they were blocking traffic and endangering children’s lives,” said Salim Al Kaabi, head of public health at Al Ain municipality.

The paper said the wells would be blocked while the equipment had been impounded. It did not make clear if the two arrested persons work together.

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