Two thieves arrested from Ruwi suburb of Muscat

Muscat The Inquiries and Criminal Investigation Department at Ruwi Police Station in Muscat has swooped on thieves and muggers following increasing complaints, especially from expatriates in the area.

“Two Omanis were arrested for mugging in isolated spots in Ruwi areas,” a spokesperson for the ROP’s Public Relations Department said.

“Both the accused were harassing expatriates, especially workers, late at night,” he said, adding that the duo snatched wallets and cell phones from this terrified expatriates.

The spokesperson added that the accused have been arrested and referred to the Public Prosecution for trial.

“We have had several similar complaints in the past and a number of accused have been arrested for mugging expatriate workers at Muscat late at night,” he further said.

The ROP have also arrested a 27-year-old citizen red handed with goods that he had stolen from a number of houses in the Ruwi area, where thefts have increased in the recent times.

A 48-year-old Omani accused, identified only with his initials G.A.K, has landed in ROP net after stealing three rent-a-car vehicles.

“A rent-a-car agency filed a complaint that the accused had taken three vehicles on rent and was not returning them back after the expiry of the rent period,” the police spokesperson said, adding the ROP investigating team traced the accused and arrested him.

In the meantime, the Primary Court in Muscat sentenced four Arabs and two Europeans to one-year jail and fined 3000 Omani riyals for using counterfeit credit cards. All six have been ordered to be deported after the prison term and have been banned from entering Oman again for the rest of their life.

Boatpeople held

Meanwhile, alert citizens in Birka, about 100-km north to Muscat, helped Royal Oman Police (ROP) nab 54 ‘boat people’, according to a press release.

“The police were alerted by the citizens about unusually high number of expatriates, mostly Pakistani nationals, at the Birka beach,” a spokesperson for the ROP said, adding that the ROP raided the place and arrested 54 infiltrators.

The long coast of Oman on the north side is often exploited by the human traffickers to drop off infiltrators. The gullible poor people from Asian subcontinent, mainly Pakistan, are brought by boats and dropped along the northern coast. They are then brought to the shores on smaller boats and left on their own.

The human trafficking victims pay heft amount to come here in search of jobs, not realising the risk involved.

In last one decade about 50,000 people have been caught and subsequently deported by boat from Oman.