DUBAI: A 25 year-old Emirati traffic policeman has been sentenced to 22 years in jail for stealing and selling more than 70 cars. The court found him guilty in 11 cases of robbery and forgery.
Records said that the man, H.S., forged warrants for the abandoned cars, abusing his access to the electronic traffic system at the Jebel Ali Police Station. He then took the warrants to a technician, where he would make duplicate car keys granting him easy access to the vehicles.
The cars were stolen in 2010 and 2011.
H.S. also forged documents of ownership so he could repaint the cars to sell them, splitting the profit with three accomplices from the GCC and the Comoros Islands. The Dubai court found two of the men guilty, sentencing them to a year in each of the 11 cases. The third was acquitted.
H.S. said the men suggested he find cars on streets that had been abandoned because of unpaid bank loans.
“They said they would help me sell the stolen cars and we would share the revenue.
“I used the money to pay back Dh360,000 in debts,” H.S. said. He claimed he felt remorse and spent sleepless nights thinking about his act. “I felt guilty because I was stealing cars when I was supposed to be an officer of the law.”
Cars are frequently left to gather dust in parking spaces, as their owners cannot pay back bank loans. Police check the traffic records of the cars and seize them if they see it is wanted by court.
Over 15,000 vehicles were seized by Dubai Police in the first six months of 2011 when many people left the country in the midst of the economic downturn.
The verdict is subject to appeal within 15 days.
