Dubai: A murder suspect was stopped by Dubai airport's immigration staff in the early hours of Saturday as he tried to leave the country.
A senior official at Sharjah Police said the suspect was arrested within 10 hours of the murder at the Dubai International Airport.
"We received a written warrant [for] arrest from police that a murderer was trying to escape the country through our airport," First Corporal Yousuf Mohammad Ebrahim said.
"We came to know that the wanted [man] is a Bangladeshi but we had no photo of him so it was hard to identify him and we were limited in time. The airport on that day was also very crowded," he said.
"I started searching the residency system and was able to download his photo, which I printed out and circulated among the airport staff," he said.
Ebrahim added that at around 1am, First Sergeant Aisha Ali Salmeen was able to identify him and he was arrested at the departure hall. "The suspect was able to pass through ... and reach the departure hall where Aisha was able to identify him."
Aisha told Gulf News that the suspect came to her counter with a big smile.
"He started talking nicely and was cracking jokes. He was wearing a cap which covered all his hair and part of his face," she said.
"He looked relaxed as if he didn't do anything. We knew he was wanted by Sharjah Police for murdering his friend," she said.
"I returned his smiles and his jokes," she said, adding that she then immediately informed her superiors.
Job well done
Major General Mohammad Ahmad Al Merri, Director General of Dubai Department for Residency and Foreigners Affairs, yesterday honoured Fist Sergeant Aisha Ali Salmeen and First Corporal Yousuf Mohammad Ebrahim for arresting a murder suspect at the airport.
"Our airport staff are ready to act, aware, attentive and dutiful in a way they're always helping ... in the security of the country," said Major General Al Merri.
