12 on trial for stealing cars from rental firms

abu dhabi — A group of twelve men went on trial at an Abu Dhabi court on Wednesday, accused of stealing nine luxury cars worth Dh7 million from car rental firms and selling them abroad.

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance was told that the men, including three Emiratis working for a government department and nine Arabs, were arrested late last year after the police received complaints from car rental firms about people who hired their expensive cars but never returned them.

According to court documents, the cars stolen by the accused included a Lamborghini, Range Rover, Mercedes, Nissan Patrol and others. Six of the cars were taken from firms in Abu Dhabi while three were rented from Dubai.

Prosecutors said that following a tip-off from car rental firms, the police formed a team which immediately got into action and caught one person who had rented a car from one of the firms.

“And upon interrogation, the man revealed the names of others involved in the theft and they were all arrested,” said a prosecutor.

Police investigations suggested that after hiring the cars from rental firms, the men would take them to the Emiratis working in a government department, who helped in forging customs documents.

“The men were changing two digits in the vehicle’s serial number before they issued a customs certificate for the car,” said a police officer.

“The gang then exported the cars as new ones, using false documents. The men then shared the revenue earned from the sale of cars.”

Prosecutors charged the accused with theft and forgery of official documents while the government officers were charged with abuse of office.

All the men denied the charges against them. One of the Arab men, who was charged with keeping the stolen cars at his home after they were brought to him by his employer, told the court that he had no idea that the car was a stolen one. The trial had been adjourned to March 7.