Six arrested for Karama exchange robbery

Dubai

Dubai Police have rounded up six suspects in connection with a brazen daylight robbery on Sunday at Al Razouki Exchange in Karama, it was announced on Thursday.

Four masked men burst into the exchange around 4:30pm brandishing a toy pistol, a taser and tear gas canister, then threatened three employees and a security guard before looting Dh700,000 and vacating the premises in under three minutes, said Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief.

Two other men were arrested for aiding them, one by providing and driving the car used in the robbery, and one for acting as a lookout and keeping the stolen money.

The men were from an eastern European country.

“It was clear they were a professional gang, because of the way they operated and how they did not look up at the security cameras,” Maj Gen Al Mazeina said.

The gang also did not leave any evidence to incriminate them at the scene.

The first suspect was caught within 24 hours in Dubai, and the others were caught in various emirates. One of the suspects was caught walking in Al Rifa’a area carrying some of the stolen cash. Time played a critical role in catching the suspects, Al Mazeina said, as they wanted to catch them before they could flee the country.

“Although all the exchange’s security systems were fully operational, and the exchange was connected to the Dubai Police Operations room, the employees panicked and did not alert the police immediately,” he said.

Teams from the Criminal Investigation Department secured all border points immediately, and the first suspect was caught trying to leave the country.

The first suspect initially denied being involved in the robbery, “but when we caught the rest of them, it was game over. They all admitted to the crime,” Maj Gen Al Mazeina said.

Major General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs, said that one of the first clues the teams found was a car that had caught fire.

“This was supposed to be their getaway car, which they had parked six streets away, but they were not able to use it, and the driver set it on fire,” he said.

“We are working on retrieving Dh50,000 that the gang spent,” Al Mazeina said.

Gulf News spoke to an official from the exchange, who claimed the assailants, tasered two customers who fell down and briefly lost consciousness.

The exchange official also claimed the footage showed the assailants wearing animal masks, covering their entire face and one of them clearly visible on camera had a lion-mask.

“For them to choose an exchange in an area as congested as Al Karama in daylight and to completely overlook the jewellery showroom shows they had come with a clear plan where surprise and speed were the main elements,” he said.