Dubai: Two men have been arrested for stealing a bag containing more than Dh1.4 million from two Asian men’s car. The victims had just left a bank on Baniyas Street in Dubai.

The incident took place on Sunday, one of the suspects, who are both Britons, is said to have pretended to be a policeman and told one of the victims their car was parked illegally, Meanwhile, the other suspect stole the bag and ran away, Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

He said one of the two suspects is Yuri Louis Harris, 53, an international thief who has stolen from multiple high-profile personalities as well as jewellery stores in a number of European countries. Harris was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison in April 2010 in the UK.

Maj Gen Al Mazeina said his accomplice in the theft is said to be Steven Oliver, 49.

He said Oliver was caught on the spot by the victims with the help of another Asian man who alerted the victims that the bag was being snatched from their car. Harris, he said, was caught the next morning.

Maj Gen Al Mazeina said the Asian man who alerted the victims will be honoured by Dubai Police. He said the command and control room of Dubai Police received a call on Sunday from the victims who said that they had been robbed soon after leaving Emirates NBD bank on Baniyas Street at around 11.20am.

One of the victims had cashed three cheques with a total value of Dh1,435,000 and returned to the car where the other victim was waiting. The first victim said he put the bag containing the money on the back seat.

One of the thieves knocked on the window and told him that he was parked illegally and he would fine him. Both victims got out of the car and were trying to convince him not to fine them. When the first victim told the thief to produce his ID card, the thief pretended to take it out and then started walking away.

At that point, the two victims were alerted by an Asian bystander that someone had stolen their bag and the three men chased him and caught him.

Maj Gen Al Mazeina said that the car was not parked illegally.

He added that the investigation was led by Major General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs.

40 CID patrols were dispatched with the description of the second suspect, Harris, as per the victim’s testimony.

He said they wanted to catch him before he left the country with the money.

At 10pm on Monday, the police received information that Harris was in the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road. Police forces surrounded the area and Harris was caught with Dh129,000 on him and Dh295,000 hidden in his luggage.

Both men were tourists in the UAE, and both had a criminal record, Maj Gen Al Mazeina said.