Dubai Police recover Dh2 million stolen by family driver within 6 hours

Dubai: Dubai Police succeeded in recovering Dh2 million in cash that was left in the car and stolen by the family’s driver.

An Arab woman thanked the Victim Communication Section at Dubai Police who rushed to help her and recovered her money.

The woman shared her story with Gulf News, urging people not to leave behind money or valuable in cars.

The 31-year-old Moroccan woman, who has been living in Dubai for four years, said she had hired a driver after the birth of her son, who is now five months old.

The driver, an Indian expat, was “very polite” and had 24 years’ experience in Dubai, she said.

Cash withdrawal

The woman added that she was recently launching a real estate business in Dubai and withdrew Dh4 million from her bank account. “All the week’s work had been done and I needed to pay the workers, so I constantly had money with me in the car,” she said.

She frequently sent the driver to suppliers or other people to make payments. “I trusted him and he was a very good driver.”

Car crash

On Thursday evening, the family sent the driver home. But this time, they had forgotten to take the money out of the car.

Her car was brand new, only a week old. The driver “made a car accident”, took the money out of the car and booked a plane ticket. From the Dh2 million, he grabbed Dh100,000 and left the rest of the cash with a friend. His plan was to slowly have all the money sent to India. The driver then took a flight out at 5.15am.

Empty room

The next day, because she woke up late, around 11:30am, the woman noticed that the driver had emptied out his room. She went to the security office of the gated community where she lives. They advised her to call the police. She called 999 and police arrived.

"The police were very responsive. A police patrol was sent to my home within 20 minutes to take my statement. After that, a series of police officers and CIDs arrived," she said.

A team from Victim Communication Section from Dubai Police also met the woman and got the details of the incident.

They recovered the money, along with her bag, within six hours.

The woman urged community members to “be careful with who you trust”.

She said: “The driver was the best, he was very respectful and compassionate, even with my two kids. But still, a lot of money is tempting for some people.

“I want to thank Dubai Police for their great work.”