Dubai: Three men and a woman have been accused of luring a resident for massage in a flat where they confined him and filmed him, then blackmailed and coerced him to give Dh225,000.

The resident was said to have felt tired and needed a massage and when he surfed the internet, he came across a massage advertisement in Tecom area in August.

After contacting the advertised number via WhatsApp, the resident drove to the location, according to records, and went up to the flat at 1am.

Once the door was answered and he walked in, three Nigerian men and their countrywoman pushed the resident inside and forced him to undress after beating him.

Then it is believed that they filmed him naked and threatened to post his nude images over the internet if he didn’t pay them Dh200,000.

Records said the three Nigerian men, aged between 24 and 25, and their 32-year-old countrywoman locked the resident in the flat where they forced him to undress and then coerced him to give his wallet that contained cash and bank cards.

The Nigerians also blackmailed the resident to give them Dh225,000 and coercing him to provide them with his bank card pin numbers.

Then assailants took the resident’s cards to a jewellery store to purchase gold using his credit card, but when the card did not work, the Nigerians took him back to the flat and kept him confined.

Later he was let go to the jewellery to get the gold and then he headed to the nearest police station and reported what had happened.

Police swept into immediate action, raided the flat and arrested the four Nigerians.

Prosecutors accused the quartet of confining the resident, breaching his privacy and molesting him when they coerced him to undress and filmed him naked in a sexually compromising situation with the 32-year-old suspect. They also beat him, stole his money and bank cards and used his credit cards to purchase gold. They were also charged with threatening to disrepute and dishonour the resident by sending his nude images to his wife and to publish them online if he didn’t pay them Dh200,000.

The Nigerian woman was accused of prostitution.

The suspects pleaded not guilty and refuted the charges before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Sunday.

One of the suspects, aged 24, was quoted as admitting to prosecutors that he conspired with the other suspects to lure the resident for massage at the flat where they filmed him naked and blackmailed him to give money.

The trial continues.