Sharjah: An Asian man who entered the UAE only 18 days ago, used a toy gun to steal nearly Dh800,000 from a money exchange store in Ras Al Khaimah. He was arrested by the police with the help of the public five minutes after he allegedly committed the crime, Brigadier Abdullah Al Munkis, director of RAK CID, said.

The police operations room received a call at around 11.40am informing them that a man wearing a mask and carrying a toy gun has threatened the staff of the store and stolen money.

“He used a plastic gun. He timed the robbery just as the employees were about to close the shop, before Jumaa prayers. The staff got scared and handed him the bag of cash and then activated the alarm which was connected to the police operations room,” a staff member of the store said.

A number of people saw the man holding a bag and running away from the money exchange store. They helped the police to catch the suspect.

Ras Al Khaimah police Commander-in-Chief Ali Alwan praised the public for their cooperation.