Dubai: Four men posed as policemen, kidnapped a salesman and drove him to Sharjah where they robbed him of Dh220,000, a court heard on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old Indian salesman was asked by his manager to deposit Dh220,000 in a bank in May.
The salesman placed the money in a bag and took it to his residence, according to records, and then left his house at 1.30pm to head to the bank.
As he sat in his car, four men approached him and asked him to move to the back seat. When he asked them why, they claimed they were policemen.
The Indian moved to the rear seat and the men got inside and one of them drove the car, said records.
One suspect punched him and then took away his phone and wallet when he asked to see their police ID cards.
The salesman was taken to Sharjah where the culprits assaulted him, stole the moneybag and escaped.
The salesman reported the matter to the police.
Preliminary investigation revealed that four suspects — an Emirati, two Indians and a Pakistani — had been involved in the incident.
Police apprehended the Emirati and the two Indians while the Pakistani man remains at large.
Prosecutors accused the four suspects of impersonating policemen, kidnapping the salesman by force and stealing Dh220,000 from him, his phone and wallet.
The three suspects, who were present in the Dubai Court of First Instance on Wednesday, pleaded not guilty before presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi.
The Pakistani suspect is being tried in absentia.
The salesman told prosecutors: “I sat in my car wanting to go to the bank to deposit the cash at 1.30pm. When I asked the suspects why they wanted me to move to the back seat, they claimed to be from the police. When I asked them to show their ID cards, the suspect sitting in the front passenger seat punched me … he snatched my phone and wallet. The culprits drove to Maliha Road in Sharjah … stole the moneybag and absconded.”
A police corporal testified to prosecutors that preliminary investigation led to the arrest of the Emirati suspect first and the Indians later.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the Emirati suspect requested the court’s permission to speak.
Then he contended: “I did not steal anything … I don’t know the suspects. The investigating prosecutor questioned the three of us in the same room together and at the same time. I asked him for bail but he told me to obtain a waiver from the claimant. When I got his contact number, my family called him and they paid him Dh220,000 the next day … he waived his complaint against me. I do not need to steal. Why would I steal? I own several companies. I need bail because I have been in custody and I am sick.”
Presiding judge Al Shamsi adjourned the case until September 19.
