Dubai: Three African prisoners were arrested shortly after escaping from the custody of an officer at Naif police station, Dubai Police said.
Major General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs, said that the three African suspects were originally arrested for committing robberies in the Naif area on Wednesday and were being taken to a cell when they escaped.
“They were suspected in stealing from bank customers in Naif area. There was no handcuffs because they were still suspects, and they were stepping off the bus to the detention centre for questioning when they made their escape,” Maj General Al Mansouri said.
“They took advantage from the rush hour inside the police station and the busy area and escape.”
Dubai Police said that one of them was arrested inside the police station while the other two managed to escape and hid in Naif area.
“We arrested them after two hours. They are now questioning [them about] robberies and they will be charged for escaping from police station,” Maj General Al Mansouri added.
However, a video circulating on social media shows CCTV footage of the prisoners escaping.
The video showed them running inside Naif police station among the customers, and a policeman kicked one of them in the leg and knocked him on the ground before capturing him.
The video also shows that the other two ran out of the main gate of the police station, with a group of officers chasing them.
The video shows the officers in hot pursuit as the escapees run into a busy Naif street.
Dubai Police has launched an investigation into how they managed to escape.
Dubai Police urged the public not to circulate the escape videos on internet or social media, “The video was taken from CCTV cameras inside the prison. We are investigating to know who put the video online and how they managed to get it,” Maj General Al Mansouri said.
