Dubai: A Filipina who allegedly conned people with promises of work visas and flats has been arrested after complaints to the police.
The suspect, M.C.K., allegedly charged her victims a fee by promising to help them obtain work visas.
Later on, she pretended to be a real estate broker and charged people commissions for renting out flats to them.
M.C.K. is believed to have collected commissions ranging from Dh5,000 to Dh10,000.
Al Rashidiya police station reported six complaints from Arab and Asian victims.
The suspect has been a frequent visitor to Dubai since 2005. She took to crime after her repeated attempts to find a job failed.
The first complaint was made by a Nigerian in 2008, who claimed that M.C.K. charged him between Dh10,000-Dh15,000 for obtaining a work visa, which never materialised.
The suspect was arrested and released on bail.
Four months after her arrest, M.C.K. allegedly conned a fellow Filipino in the same way.
Police said many of her alleged victims did not lodge complaints or took a long time to do so, which made it difficult for the police to track down the suspect.
New strategy
According to Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Humaid Al Merri, director of the criminal investigation unit at Dubai Police, M.C.K. changed strategy in 2009 and started posing as a real estate broker.
She posted advertisements offering flats for rent, specifically in the International City area. The suspect would call up real estate companies to know which flats were unoccupied. She then offered those flats on rent to her ‘clients', Al Merri said.
An investigative team tracked down the suspect and arrested her close to a hotel in Riggat Al Buteen, Dubai. All the victims in the six reports allegedly identified the suspect.
Brigadier Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Director of the general department for criminal investigation at Dubai Police, said the public should report any suspicious incident.
"I urge the public to seek official registered channels when they want to obtain any visa, apartment, or perform any transaction."
