Dh701,000 robbed from exchange outlet

 A gang of six men robbed an exchange outlet and walked away with Dh 701,710 a court heard on Sunday.
The six men, all from Kyrgyzstan, including a runaway, allegedly used fake guns, tear gas and stun guns when they barged into the office, located in Al Karama, wearing masks and gloves.
They later burned the car on which they had fixed a stolen plate number, as per the public prosecution records.
The incident happened on December 13, last year.
The five defendants, who were brought before the Court of First Instance, pleaded not guilty to charges of armed robbery, arson, assault on the safety of the office's staff and customers, physical assault on 3 police officers.
The men denied also stealing a car's plate number and illegally using it.
Two of them are accused of infiltration into the country and breaching a ban order.
A 26-year-old Indian driver, who eye-witnessed the incident, said that he was in the exchange outlet when the thieves barged in shouting 'pull down'. "It was about 4:30 pm and they were masked. One used a stun gun on my hand and pepper-sprayed me. My eyes hurt so much I fell down."
''The thieves stayed there for few minutes. I covered my head with my hands and I could only hear the screams of the staff. I was transferred later to a nearby clinic," he said.
Another Indian customer, 51, said he was in the office when he heard a man speaking in a language he could not understand. "I turned around and I saw a man wearing a mask. My eyes hurt after he pepper-sprayed me and used a stun gun on my face. I fell down and I was taken to hospital''.
An Indian employee, 24, said she and other colleagues rushed out from the backside door after they were attacked with a stun gun and pepper spray. "We stayed there till the police arrived".
A police captain said they found the car, the thieves used, burned near the office.
The police arrested the thieves shortly later and seized the crime tools from them. "We learnt they changed the car after the robbery and burned it down. They had stolen a plate number and fixed on it. One of them had also used a fake passport copy when he bought the car."
Some of the defendants showed stiff resistance as they were apprehended by the Criminal Investigation Department police officers.
The court adjourned the hearing to October 19.
mary@khaleejtimes.com