Secret source scheme reaps rewards as accused is held

Dubai: It took police seven hours to hold a suspect for a murder committed 135 days ago and to identify the victim, thanks to the Recruitment Programme adopted by the Dubai Police Criminal Investigation Department.

The Recruitment Programme is a net of police informants and a database covering the emirate with people who are ready to help the police by providing tips and information crucial to solving crimes.

A report was received on Thursday of a woman's body found buried in a deserted house in Mankhool, Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Humaid Al Merri, Director of the Investigation Section, said.

Police patrols found the body of a woman with long hair in a shallow grave dug in the house, which was due for demolition. The makeshift grave was covered with a plywood panel.

Forensic doctors who examined the body estimated the time of death was four and a half months ago.

The picture of a woman was found in the victim's pocket, which a secret source identified in less than an hour after the body was found.

The source identified the woman as S., a 30-year-old Bangladeshi who was seen frequently with a fellow national in the Karama area. He also identified the jewellery she had been wearing.

The woman's friend, identified as M.K.N., was found and arrested in Naif, where he worked as a shopkeeper.

When interrogated he denied knowing the victim, but when faced with the evidence and witnesses, he told police he had been in a relationship with her.

The suspect reportedly told police he had borrowed Dh3,000 from the victim, who was a sex worker, and failed to pay it back. As she was threatening him with her acquaintances, whom she said would beat him up, he planned to end her life.

He knew the victim, who was staying in the country illegally after absconding from her sponsor, was looking for a house to rent, and offered to show her one.

On January 9, the suspect is said to have taken the victim to a deserted house in Mankhool, where he strangled her with her scarf and buried her in a shallow grave he dug, Lt Col Al Merri said.

On Sunday morning the suspect was taken to the deserted house.

Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief, said the case was a true test of the secret source recruitment programme implemented by the CID.

"It took seven hours to find the suspect after finding the body, which was in the grave for four and a half months before being discovered," Lt Gen Dahi said.

Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeinah, Deputy Dubai Police Chief, said the record time in which the suspect was caught made Dubai Police proud.