Dubai, October 02: The Dubai Police has arrested a man for allegedly impersonating a police officer and stealing Dh600,000 from an employee of a shop, said a senior police officer.
The police said a 30-year-old Bangladeshi employee was at the shop office in Naif when an Emirati, posing as a police officer, approached him late in the evening of September 26.
The man did not present any identity card but made the employee give him a bag containing Dh600,000.
The suspect then took the employee with him in a taxi on the pretext of going to the police station. On the way, the suspect made the employee get out of the car on Al Khaleej Road and escaped with the cash.
The employee rang the police who raided the Emirati’s house in Al Baraha. The Emirati was found bleeding badly and was taken to a hospital before being taken into custody. As much as Dh16,000 was found in his possession.
Major Ahmed Al Merri, Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, said the suspect had a criminal record and had been sentenced by courts many times. He was pardoned during Ramadan for his most recent crime. The police tracked down the taxi used by the suspect and the driver identified the latter.
The police found that the man had used some of the money to pay off loans. The suspect told the police a second man, a Bangladeshi now on the run, had asked him to go to a shop in Naif where unlicensed money transfers were being done, and to tell the employees he was a police officer.
The Emirati went to his house after the crime. The Bangladeshi was also there. They had alcohol and dinner. Meanwhile, the complainant came to the house and spoke to the runaway man briefly before leaving. Police later found a video of the complainant leaving the shop with the Emirati without resistance. However, the complainant has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
After dinner, the Emirati left the house telling the second suspect that he would hide the cash in a room in Al Butaina. He then returned to the house and continued drinking with the second suspect. He woke up as the police arrived and found himself bleeding. His injuries were not specified.
The police recovered Dh310,820 which was hidden on the roof of the room of the Emirati’s brother in Al Butaina. The suspect has been referred to the Public Prosecution.
–Agencies