Driver accused of stealing woman deportee’s cash and valuables

Dubai: An airport driver has been accused of stealing Dh10,500 and valuables from the handbag of a woman convict, who was being escorted to the airport to be deported.

The 38-year-old Pakistani driver was said to have unzipped the handbag of the Ugandan woman and taken the cash and other valuables as he was transferring the bag from his vehicle to the airport’s terminal in July.

Shortly after the Ugandan woman had completed her punishment, a police patrol escorted her from Dubai Central Jail to Dubai International Airport to have her deported.

The 38-year-old driver was tasked to move her travel bags from his vehicle to the departure terminal, according to records, when he opened the bag and took the cash and other belongings.

Once the woman realised that her cash and part of her belongings had disappeared from her bag, she reported the matter to the airport police.

Prosecutors accused the suspect of stealing cash and personal belongings.

The suspect failed to appear before the Dubai Court of First Instance where he was scheduled to enter his plea on Sunday.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the suspect stole money, perfumes, wristwatches, a digital tab, a flash memory drive, two sunglasses, mobile chargers and other items.

Presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi said the suspect will be sentenced in absentia on January 18.

An airport policeman claimed to prosecutors that the woman had been brought to the departure terminal to be deported when she alerted them that her money and belongings had been stolen.

“The suspect’s job was to transfer the deportee’s luggage to the aircraft. We examined the surveillance cameras instantly after she reported that she had been robbed. The suspect was shown opening the luggage and stealing from it,” the policeman testified.

The Pakistani was quoted as admitting to prosecutors that he stole the money and other items that had been thrown out of the bag and scattered on the conveyor belt.

The suspect also claimed that other items were seized at his residence when the police raided it.