Maid throws bag with gold in garbage dump

Police surprise couple seeking missing jewellery

An Indian family went to a police station to report a theft of gold jewellery worth Dh40,000 and got a surprise when officers handed the treasure to them after a cleaner found it among garbage.

The family’s housemaid had thrown the bag thinking it contained garbage.

Lieutenant Colonel Rashid Bin Safwan, Deputy Director of the Lost and Found Department in Dubai Police, told Gulf News yesterday that a cleaner was collecting garbage in Al Ghusais area when he found the bag with jewellery.

“He handed over the jewellery to Al Ghusais police station and we thought it was stolen as nobody had reported it. After two days, the Indian family came to the station to report their jewellery was missing and they thought someone had stolen it,” Bin Safwan said.

The family was surprised when the police showed them the jewellery which they recognised immediately.

Dubai Police’s Lost and Found Department earned Dh6.2 million by auctioning thousands of unclaimed items, officials said yesterday.

Major-General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, assistant commander-in-chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs, said the items auctioned recently included watches, jewellery, cash, smart phones, laptops, tablets and other electronics.

“We have earned Dh6.2 million in the auctions since 2017, including Dh3.8 million in an auction this year. The revenue goes to the state treasury,” MajGen Al Mansouri said.

Police stations hold lost and abandoned items for around a month so they can be claimed.

All items are logged and stored in warehouses.

“If no one make a claim, the items are sent to the Lost and Found Department at the Dubai Police headquarters. We check with other police departments across the UAE to ensure there are no lost item reports or if there are criminal cases involving these items,” he said.

The department is governed by Law No 5 of 2015 which states that anyone who finds any lost and/or abandoned property, including money, is obliged to hand it over to the

police within 48 hours, following which the police will issue a report. The failure to do so invites criminal liability.

Meanwhile, Lt-Col Rashid Bin Safwan, deputy director of the Lost and Found Department, said most of the items auctioned were bought by hotels, shopping malls and members of the public.

“We honour the person [who hands over the lost item] with a certificate and a reward of 10 per cent of the item’s value up to a maximum of Dh50,000. If a person who lost an item had already left the country, we send him the item by mail after verifying his/her identity,” he said.