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Jobless driver sets nine vehicles on fire in Abu Dhabi

The accused confessed that he committed his crimes at night after getting drunk and targeted vehicles randomly.

A 23-year-old man, who allegedly set eight heavy vehicles and a caravan on fire, was arrested by the Abu Dhabi Police recently.

The accused, a Pakistani national, allegedly burned down one caravan, four trucks, two buses and two tankers in Al Gharbia area in the capital, which resulted in losses worth hundreds of thousands of dirhams.

In the initial interrogation, the accused confessed that he committed his crimes at night after getting drunk. He allegedly targeted vehicles “randomly”.

He told the police that he used to be a taxi driver and was recently dismissed. His crimes, he said, “were not a result of personal revenge”. The vehicles’ owners also told the police that they did not have any kind of disputes with the accused.

The Western Region Police Directorate announced that it received multiple reports about an unidentified man burning down heavy vehicles and a caravan. The targeted vehicles were parked in sandy areas in Ghayathi city.

Colonel Ojeil Ali Abdullah Al Junaibi, Director of the directorate, said: “A police team headed to the location to investigate these reports. Preliminary investigations suggested that the suspect used a lighter to burn the vehicles.”

The police increased patrolling in the areas concerned to ensure stability and security. The suspect, M.A.S., was arrested for reckless driving and was found to have an invalid licence.

“The investigating team was able to gather conclusive evidence. From information collected from multiple sources, we concluded that M.A.S. was involved in the crimes.” — news@khaleejtimes.com