Six on trial for robbing money exchange staff of Dh3.6 million

dubai — Six men stood trial on Thursday in the Court of First Instance accused of robbing money exchange staff of Dh3.6 million at knife point.

The four Cameroonians and two Malians (aged between 29 and 38) have other accomplices who are at large. The incident happened at a hotel room in Al Muraqqabat on February 15.

The thieves managed to intimidate the outlet staff with knives and fled the meeting venue with the big cash after gagging and tying the staff up. Two other Cameroonians, both aged 31, are accused of possessing Dh3.2 million from the stolen money.

The six first defendants are also accused of stealing four mobile phones from the staff. Only two of

I was taken by surprise when the suspect sitting next to me pushed me down and then tied my feet and hands up.” 30-year-old Indian PRO

them admitted in court to a forcible robbery charge. A 30-year-old Indian PRO said: “On February 14, I received a phone call from my Sri Lankan friend who told me about a Jordanian national who wanted to convert $1 million into dirhams.

“Since such a large amount was not available at our outlet, I contacted my friend who works at another office. The latter said he could arrange Dh3.6 million.

The exchange staff than had an agreement with the Jordanian man to meet at a hotel room to get done with the deal around noon on the following day. “We went for the meeting carrying the suitcase with Dh3.6 m. The Jordanian man was there and he was shortly later joined by four Africans.

“One of the suspects brought the dollar packets and pretended he was counting. At one point, we thought he would take out another packet from the bag. But we were shocked he brought out a knife.

“I was taken by surprise when the suspect sitting next to me pushed me down and then tied my feet and hands up.”

The money exchange staff and the Jordanian were all intimidated, gagged and tied up until the thieves made away with the money.

A police major said they made the arrests on February 21 first in the Marina area and then in Satwa and in Al Ain.

Different amounts of money were seized from the defendants.