Dubai: A Dubai-based expatriate said he was forced to shell out Dh2,000 after a group of youngsters hit his vehicle in Sharjah when he was returning from Ajman after buying alcohol.
The expat vowed that he would “never again buy liquor from Ajman and transport it through Sharjah” after the incident on March 28.
Possessing liquor is against the law in Sharjah whereas in Dubai it is illegal to possess or consume alcohol without having a valid licence.
Many Dubai residents who do not have a licence to buy alcohol procure it from several places including a vendor in Ajman from whom people can buy it without a licence.
The expat, who preferred to remain anonymous, said he was framed in a set-up by young men in their early 20s who threatened to call the police if he did not pay them Dh10,000.
Recalling his day of horror, he said: “I set off from the liquor store on the Ajman corniche and just as I reached the Blue Souq in Sharjah, I felt a bump on the back of my car.
"Two men got out of the car behind, stood on the pavement and pretended to call the police. The seriousness of the situation did not strike me and I went to the glove compartment to take out my car insurance papers.
“One of the men who had a physique like a bodybuilder came up to me and said the hit on my bumper did not look that bad and requested me to open the truck so he could check inside.”
Things turned nasty for the expat when he told the men he could not open the trunk since he had liquor cases inside.
“They told me that if the police came to know about it, I would be put in jail and would have to pay a Dh25,000 fine. I had heard about such set-up jobs earlier. They then asked for Dh6,000 if I did not wish my life to be ruined.”
The expat said he wasn’t carrying that much cash.
“I asked him if he was doing it on purpose and one of them got angry and told me he did not need my money and began talking to someone on the phone in Arabic.”
On bargaining, the sum was finally brought down to Dh2,000. The expat said one of the men accompanied him to an ATM where “I withdrew the money and handed it over to him.”
