Dubai: A gang of seven men has been accused of posing as policemen and robbing Dh730,000 from a Dubai exchange house.
The exchange house sent two employees to meet a customer wanting to exchange $200,000 for dirhams in November last year at the Al Muraqabbat area.
“We were inside the car with a bag of cash, heading to meet the man. All of the sudden, two vehicles blocked our path from the front and back. Two men stepped out and flashed their ID caards, claiming that they are from the police,” a 43-year-old exchange employee said in official records.
“They took our IDs and the bag of cash and told us to head to the Al Muraqabbat Police Station and then escaped.”
He said his colleague tried to chase them but he couldn’t and the pair alerted Dubai Police.
The incident which happened at 1.30pm.
A 26-year-old Emirati policeman said the force’s swift investigation led to a 37-year-old Emirati defendant staying in Sharjah.
“The first defendant was arrested in cooperation with Sharjah Police. We found a large amount of the money with him and he admitted to committing the crime with others,” the Emirati policeman added.
The other three Emirati defendants, a Syrian man and two gang members from Cameron were arrested later and the cash recovered.
“He admitted that another suspect, who is at large, informed him about people possessing illegal money and asked him to be part of the robbery. He would also get a share of the money,” said the Emirati policeman in official records.
The exchange employees identified the gang members in a suspects’ line.
Dubai Public Prosecution charged six of the defendants with robbery and the fourth defendant with criminal abetting.
