Trio storm into Dubai trading company and steal Dh110,000

Dubai: Three men have been accused of forcing their way in to a trading company, tying up two of its employees and stealing Dh110,000 after posing as policemen.

The trio, an Emirati corporal, S.S., a Moroccan visitor, I.B., and an Indian salesman, O.S., were said to have held the Indian employees after claiming that they were from the police.

Prosecutors said S.S. and I.B. tied up the employees’ hands and legs with plastic ropes and tape and stole the money that was kept in the company’s drawers.

O.S. was charged with aiding and abetting the Emirati and the Moroccan. The trio entered a not-guilty plea when they appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.

According to the charge-sheet, prosecutors said O.S. guided S.S. and I.B. to the company’s address. S.S. and I.B. headed to the company and knocked at the door. They forced themselves inside after one of them presented a Dubai Police ID. The defendants asked the employees about the company’s owner and once they were told that he went for prayers, S.S. and I.B. tied the employees and stole the money.

The company’s 62-year-old Indian owner testified to prosecutors that the incident happened when he was out for his prayers on September 17.

“When I returned to the company, I ran the door bell. I was surprised when I.B. answered the door. When I walked in, I saw the employees lying down on the floor with their arms and legs tied up. When I asked the defendants about their identification, they shouted at me and repeatedly claimed that they are policemen even though they wore civilian clothes.

“I doubted they were policemen, and when I confronted them they shouted at me again and said they were carrying out their work. I immediately told them that I’d lived in the UAE for a long time and was capable of differentiating whether what they were doing was right or not. I told them that the police did not act or tie people up in the same way they had done to my employees. S.S. got very angry and yelled at me. He then he grabbed me from the neck and pushed me towards the wall,” the Indian owner told prosecutors.

Records said the defendants took out the money from drawers and put them into a bag.

“When the employees warned me that the defendants were stealing the money, I shouted at the defendant and asked them to call for uniformed police to come and do whatever they want.

“I.B. told me that police with uniforms would arrive soon. The defendants hid the money in their pockets and walked out of the company. I called up my sponsor and told him what happened,” the owner said.

The employees claimed that the defendants assaulted and beat them up before they tied them up.

A policeman testified that the suspects were identified from the documents that were found in the bag that they left during the heist. The defendants were arrested shortly after the incident.

The trial continues.