Abu Dhabi: Al Ain Police arrested four people in Al Ain city, who allegedly operated illegal taxis and robbed their unsuspecting passengers.
The suspects, of African nationalities, used a rental vehicle to transport passengers on the outskirts of Al Ain.
They used a scam to rob the victims. Apart from the driver, three members of the gang would also travel in the car, pretending to be passengers.
The driver would claim that his money was stolen and then three of his accomplices would express their willingness to hand over their wallets to the driver to be searched to prove their innocence. Then the unsuspecting passenger would be also be compelled to hand over his wallet, which would be robbed by the gang.
“One of the suspects arrived in the country on a visit visa four days back,” said Brigadier General Mohammad Suhail Al Rashidi, director of Al Ain Police.
“The suspect rented a vehicle from a car rental firm to commit the crime along with his other three accomplices,” he added.
Brigadier Al Rashidi said that several scam and theft incidents were reported to Al Hili police station by Asian victims.
Investigation teams identified the suspect who took the car on rent and raided his residence.
The suspect, who admitted to committing several robberies, was arrested.
Brigadier Al Rashidi called on the public to use licensed public transport and not ride with strangers in private cars to avoid such crimes.
