Dubai: A lifeguard and a shop manager have been accused of luring a salesman to a dark alley where they beat him up and robbed Dh700,000 from him.

The 26-year-old Uzbek lifeguard and some other men, who remain at large, were said to have tricked the Nepalese salesman who was taking the money to a jeweller in Naif in November.

The Nepalese salesman had Dh700,000 in a backpack and was walking towards the jeweller, records showed, before he saw a bundle of US dollars on the floor.

When he looked around and noticed that nobody was looking, the salesman knelt down to pick up the money but a came from behind and snatched it off the ground.

The man looked at the salesman and winked to him in a sign to follow him into the alley so they could split the money between them without anyone noticing. The Nepalese man then followed him and once they reached the rear end of the alley, a number of men, including the lifeguard, ganged up against him.

The men beat up the salesman, snatched away his backpack and absconded.

The salesman reported the matter to the police and preliminary investigation led to the arrest of the lifeguard and his 27-year-old countryman manager of a car rental office.

The 27-year-old was apprehended for his involvement in renting out the car that the thieves had used during the heist.

A 39-year-old Uzbek merchant and a 24-year-old countryman salesman were both arrested for possessing part of the stolen cash.

Prosecutors charged the lifeguard with beating the Nepalese up and robbing Dh700,000 from him with the help of other suspects who remain at large.

The manager was accused of aiding and abetting the thieves.

Prosecutors also accused the merchant and the Uzbek salesman of possessing Dh259,000 of the stolen cash.

The four Uzbek defendants pleaded not guilty when they appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Monday.

The merchant told presiding judge Urfan Omar that he was not aware that the money had been stolen.

The salesman also admitted that he possessed the money but was not aware about the heist.

When asked by presiding judge Omar about who had given him the Dh259,000, the 24-year-old suspect replied: “The lifeguard and a woman came and gave me the money … but I did not know about the heist.”

The 40-year-old Nepalese claimed to prosecutors that a group of men beat him up in the alley after he followed the man who had picked up the bundle of US dollars.

“Another person came and claimed that the bundle belonged to him … then he asked me to check my bag. Having opened the bag with good intention, both men beat me. I lost consciousness … when I regained my consciousness, I realised that they had taken my backpack. I reported the matter to the police,” he testified to prosecutors.

A police lieutenant claimed to prosecutors that the suspects were identified from surveillance cameras of nearby buildings.

The trial continues.