Four jailed for massage spa robbery
DUBAI: Two law-enforcement oficers who ganged up with two robbers to ransack an ‘unlicensed’ massage centre were on Thursday sent to spend six months in prison.
The Arab cop, 22 and his workmate, 22, joined hands with two Asian accomplices – a driver, 31, and a watchman, 36 – to rob Dhs9,191.61 from the centre in Al Barsha around 2:30am on Sept.26, 2017.
The Criminal Court imprisoned them, and ordered them to return the Dhs9,191 besides paying an equivalent ine. The workmate, driver and watchman will be deported after serving the punishments.
On the record, as part of the scheme, both oficers stationed their vehicle just a stone’s throw away from the centre, making them more eligible to be tasked by the concerned law-enforcement body.
The driver and watchman entered the centre posing as clients. The watchman entered a room for services. Five minutes later he falsely shouted that a masseuse snatched Dhs3,000 from clothes he placed aside.
The driver immediately contacted the law-enforcement body and deceived it that there was an inebriated man wreaking havoc in the building housing the centre. The body dispatched both oficers.
They stormed the centre to conduct an investigation into the alleged theft. Masseuses and clients pleaded innocent but both oficers ordered them to hand over their handbags and purses to be searched.
They snatched an Indonesian masseuse’s Dhs6,000 and a female Vietnamese investor’s Dhs1,200. From a Vietnamese receptionist they snatched Dhs1,400, $100, Euro50 and an assortment of currencies.
Before prosecutors, the driver narrated that the workmate befriended him in a café and later borrowed Dhs1,500 from him. He later directed him to the salon that was illicitly turned into a massage centre.
He advised him to cause problems, cook up a theft case and contact the body between 10pm and 6am – a time when he was on duty in the area. The driver discussed the matter with the watchman.
During the raid, both oficers threatened to detain the women unless they returned the Dhs3,000. They ordered them to head to the lounge while they combed the rooms. The cop snatched Dhs2,100 from a table and demanded the remaining ‘stolen’ money.
He snatched Dhs900 from a masseuse’s purse. He plucked out the centre’s surveillance camera and handed it to the driver. They walked away and shared the robbery proceeds. An Emirati lieutenant said external surveillance footage helped identify both oficers.