Dubai: For a 58-year-old former salesman, luck came after spending 37 years in the UAE.
Kalapparambath Mohamed Ali Musthafa, a father of three, is the latest winner of $1 million in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire draw. He is the 12th person from India to hit the million-dollar jackpot this year.
The Indian national has recently left his job in the UAE to retire in his home country.
Just a few days before he took his last flight as a UAE expat, Ali Musthafa bought a ticket for the Dubai Duty Free raffle. It was the third one he has bought since raffle draws caught his attention, and it later led him to a huge fortune.
His ticket was picked during the latest draw held at Terminal 3, Concourse B of Dubai International Airport.
The expat used to be a sales representative for a UAE company, which he had worked with for 17 years.
He bought his third ticket for the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire promotion at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in August, just a few days before flying back home to India for his retirement.
The winner said he has no immediate plans yet on what he will do with the money, but he quickly added that he will definitely share it with his family.
“I am very grateful to Dubai Duty Free for this new fortune which I will share with my family especially to my two sons living in Abu Dhabi”.
Organisers said the former expat who is now in Kerala has to come to Dubai again to collect the prize. The winner, however, refused to be interviewed further.
For the "Finest Surprise" segment of the raffle promotion, seven-year-old Muhammad Hamdan Faisal won a luxury bike. His father, a Dubai-based Pakistani national who owns an auto-parts business, bought the winning ticket under the child’s name.
