Police arrest trio claiming magical capabilities

Dubai: Dubai Police arrested a gang of three men who claimed they can double money using witchcraft and swindled many people.

On October 8, Dubai Police's Department of Combating Economic Crimes, received a tipoff about an African Arab man who was swindling people by claiming he possessed a lot of money which turned black because of witchcraft and he was looking for someone who had Dh300,000 to help him get rid of the witchcraft after which he could double the amount.

The department formed a special team to track down the gang and set up a trap.

A police source was able to infiltrate the gang and met them on October 12.

During the meeting, one of the members explained to the source how to get rid of witchcraft from the money they possessed and the way of doubling the cash by keeping the amount inside a locker, sprinkling a special powder on the notes and then keeping them for 48 hours so the amount doubles.

The gang claimed that the cost of the powder and the necessary tools to complete the operation is Dh300,000. The gang asked the source to give them the amount for the purpose, assuring him of handling over his share of money later.

The source realised that the gang simply wanted to get hold of the money and make off with it. On the same day, the police raided the gang's residence and arrested two African men and one Arab African man identified as G.S., S.H. and S.N.

After searching their residence, police found black papers with one hundred dollars printed on them used for doubling money by telling victims that they are original but are under a spell and witchcraft was needed to get rid of them. Police also found books and tools on witchcraft.

It turned out that two of the suspects were staying in the country illegally while the third is wanted by various authorities in the country.