Dubai Police return €33,600 to transit passenger who lost cash at airport

Dubai Police recently returned €33,600 (Dh140,000) to a transit passenger after the man lost the cash during his outbound journey via the Dubai International Airport.

Siegfried Tellbach, a German national, was overwhelmed with joy upon the return of his money, especially since he was not aware of when or where he lost it.

Brigadier Hamouda Belsuwaida Al Ameri, acting director of the General Department of Airports Security, said that Tellbach was travelling from his homeland Germany through Dubai International Airport to Thailand for a short vacation.

"Once Mr Tellbach arrived at the hotel in Thailand, he was shocked to realise he had lost his bag containing a large sum of money, amounting to about €33,600," Al Ameri said.

Tellbach could not remember when or where he lost the bag, as he had travelled via the international airports of Düsseldorf, Dubai and Thailand.

On his flight back home via the Dubai International Airport, Tellbach was approached by an officer from the Lost & Found Section to confirm his identity and hand him the money.

Tellbach thanked Dubai Police and airport employees for returning his bag, stressing that Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world. "He did not imagine that he would find the money again as simple as that," Al Ameri said.

Major Muhammad Khalifa Al Kamda, head of the Lost & Found Section, explained that employees immediately contacted their counterparts at Emirates airline to learn his itinerary once the owner of the money was identified.

sherouk@khaleejtimes.com