Dubai: An Arab man who allegedly stole Dh25,000 from his flatmate was arrested minutes before he was about to board a flight, police said on Tuesday.
Colonel Yousuf Al Adidi, director of Al Qusais police station, said the victim, also an Arab, complained to the police that his money was stolen and he suspected his flatmate since the latter had not been answering the phone calls after he discovered the robbery in the morning.
“We checked on the name of the friend and discovered that he had passed the passport control area at Dubai International Airport and was heading to board a flight. We arrested him just minutes before reaching the aeroplane,” Colonel Al Adidi said.
The police searched the suspect and found the stolen money and he was brought to the police station for questioning.
“He confessed that he stole the money from his friend. He claimed he had been facing financial problems and he decided to steal the money from his friend as he knew the latter was keeping the money in a safe. He planned to leave the country the same day but we managed to foil his attempt,” Col Al Adidi added.
The victim was surprised when the police called him later the same day asking him to come to collect his money, “He was surprised that we arrested the suspect in a few minutes and recovered the money. He didn’t know that his friend was planning to leave the country.”
Col Al Adidi urged the public not to keep big amounts of money inside their shared apartments to avoid such robberies. “People who stay in shared homes shouldn’t carry big amounts of money or keep them in their homes as they can be easy subject of robbery.”
The suspect has been referred to the public prosecution after charging him with theft.
