Gang offering fake massage sentenced to three years in prison in Dubai

Dubai: A gang was sentenced to three years in prison for robbing Dh280,000 from a Dubai-based expatriate man after he was lured into a fake massage parlour.

According to the Dubai Court of First Instance, the 33-year-old Indian victim saw an offer for a massage session for Dh200 with pictures of beautiful girls promoting it. He contacted the number provided and went as directed to an apartment in the Al Refaa area of Dubai in November 2020.

Upon entering the apartment, he saw four African women and he handed over Dh200 to them. “They then asked me to open my bank’s application [on my mobile phone] and transfer money to another account. They threatened me with a knife at my throat and slapped me on the face,” said the victim on record.

Confined in apartment

One of the women then snatched the victim’s credit card from him and withdrew Dh30,000 from an ATM. He was kept confined in the apartment for one day as the women transferred Dh250,000 from the victim’s bank account to other accounts.

According to Dubai Police, three expatriate women were arrested from Sharjah after intensive investigations, while a fourth woman is still at large. The arrested women admitted to luring the victim through the Tinder dating app, offering massage services and using pictures of beautiful women. They kept the victim locked up inside the apartment and forced him to transfer money from his account to different accounts outside the country, according to an official from Dubai Police.

The three defendants have been charged with robbery, issuing threats, keeping the victim forcefully confined inside an apartment and prostitution.