Dubai: Gang of 7 jailed after impersonating police officers to steal Dh470,000 from saffron trader

The Dubai Court of Appeal upheld a verdict by the Court of First Instance convicted a gang of seven for robbing a saffron trader.

According to police records, an Asian saffron merchant filed a report stating that he had been assaulted and robbed while he was in his home. He said that one of the accused knocked on his door, claiming to be a CID officer. As he was talking to him, three others showed up, also claiming to be CID officers. They even backed their claim, showing him cards with the police logo printed in English. They asked him about his work and where his funds were. He answered their questions and brought the money from his room to show them, whereupon they assaulted him, locked him inside his room, and stole the money, which amounted to Dh470,000.

The investigation team from Dubai Police was able to catch one of the men, a Gulf national, as he was trying to travel by land to a neighbouring country. The police were then able to catch the rest of the gang as well, arresting them in possession of the stolen money.

During interrogation, all of them revealed that the Gulf national had planned the robbery. He had distributed roles among them, assigning two to monitor the place, one to drive and wait near the victim's residence, and the others to conduct the robbery.

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