Gang of five charged with impersonation, robbery, kidnapping in UAE
Posing as policemen, they stopped a car and drove away with 11-year-old seated inside
Dubai: A gang of five men went on trial accused of posing as police officers and stopping a vehicle before driving off with a boy seated inside, a Dubai Court of First Instance heard.
Records reveal that the defendants were told that the 32-year-old Pakistani driver, who works in a farm, was transporting a large amount of cash to deposit in the bank.
The driver was taking the 11-year-old Indian boy to school when the defendants stopped them on Dubai-Al Ain Road in October 2018.
“I used to take the boy to school for three years. A vehicle behind flashed me to stop. On the front of the car there was a blue light and I thought it was a police car. I parked on the side of the road when two people opened my car door and told me that they needed to search the car,” the Pakistani driver said.
The gang asked the boy to step out the car but he refused. In the next moment, they all sat in the car and drove off in high speed.
“I ran after them. After two minutes, I saw the boy running towards me and he was crying. I stopped a car and asked for a phone to alert Dubai Police.”
Prosecution said the gang of five kidnapped the boy and drove the car for 500 metres before pushing the boy out.
Cash from dairy farm
The gang found an envelope in the car containing 8,151 Saudi riyals and Dh2,206. They stole the driver’s iPhone and Dh500 from his wallet.
Dubai Police, who pursued the complaint, arrested three members of the gang, who confessed that a worker in the farm told them that the driver used to take money from the dairy farm to be deposited in the bank.
“They confessed that they drove away before stopping the car and let the boy leave and then parked it on Hatta-Oman road. They said that a worker helped them with the timing and location of the car,” an Emirati policeman said.
The defendants — two of them still at large — were charged with posing as policemen, robbery, kidnapping the boy and endangering his life.
The trial has been deferred to April 17.