Sharjah: Police have arrested three Colombian men suspected of robbing residents after they withdrew large quantities of cash from their banks.
A senior official at Sharjah Police told Gulf News that police had also received several complaints from residents who were victims of the crime, in addition to receiving a tip-off about suspicious people who lingered near banks.
A team from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) then monitored some locations which they expected the thieves to target, and soon identified three suspicious men in the area.
The gang was eventually arrested when they targeted a resident, without realising that the police were following their movements.
The arrest occurred when a resident left a bank with an envelope, which contained cash. The suspects then followed the resident in a vehicle and waited till he got back into his vehicle, which was parked near a shop on Al Qasimia Street.
Getaway vehicle
One of the suspects then got out of the vehicle and attempted to break the passenger window, but failed. The second suspect then jumped out of the getaway vehicle and broke the rear passenger window, and tried to snatch the envelope of cash.
However, the theft was intercepted as police then quickly arrived at the scene and arrested the suspects, including the third man who was trying to drive away from the crime.
The suspects were identified as H.A. Leon, B.B. Trigilo, and A.G. Trigilo, all from Colombia. They confessed that they had also robbed a number of residents previously, and lived in hotels in the neighbouring emirates.
The case has been referred to Sharjah Public Prosecution.
