Dubai: European expat lured on dating app threatened with toy gun, robbed

Dubai: A Dubai-based Romanian expat was threatened with a toy gun by a Nigerian gang that lured him through a dating app.

The Dubai Court of First Instance heard that the Romanian man was threatened with a toy gun by a gang of two women and a man from Nigeria who stole his money and credit card. The victim testified that he met a woman on the Tinder dating app before she invited him to have a cup of coffee at her apartment in the Jebel Ali area in September this year.

The victim believed he would be meeting a new friend and headed to the address given by her without a doubt. “Once I entered the apartment, one man put a gun to my head while another one put his arms over my shoulder. They threatened to kill me if I didn’t hand over my money,” the victim said on record. The gang robbed the victim of Dh2,650 and $200 in cash, a necklace, credit card and a mobile phone.

A 28-year-old Emirati policeman said on record that the gang deleted the conversation between the victim and the female defendant in order to hide all evidence. “The defendants were arrested from Ajman. They couldn’t withdraw money from the credit card as the victim had provided them with wrong pass codes,” the Emirati policeman said. “They admitted to using a toy gun to intimidate the victim and rob him.”

Dubai Public Prosecution has charged the defendants with robbing the victim under threat. The next hearing is scheduled for January next year.