A gang of six men posing as police officers who kidnapped two workers in a Dh2.6 million robbery plot have each been handed five-year prison sentences by a Dubai court.
The group stopped the two men in the Naif area of the emirate, having been tipped off they would be collecting a large sum of cash on behalf of their employer, a general trade company.
They bundled the victims into a nearby Pajero vehicle before stealing the money.
The gang, all from Bangladesh, tied the hands of the two men before releasing them in Al Qusais about 40 minutes later, Dubai Criminal Court heard.
The incident took place in May last year.
The six men were convicted of kidnapping, robbery and impersonating police officers at a hearing on Monday.
The offenders had been told the employees would be collecting the cash by one of the victims' colleagues.
“They slapped me several times until we reached Al Qusais after 40 minutes," said one of the victims in court records.
"They tied my hands and asked me to walk away. I managed to free my hands at a petrol station and returned to Naif to alert my director.”
Dubai Police identified the gang and the car they were travelling in after viewing CCTV cameras in the area.
Two of the group were initially arrested and were found in possession of cash and jewellery.
They admitted to their role in the robbery and led police to their accomplices.
“A worker in the company told the suspects about the two employees collecting cash from company’s customers. They waited until all cash was collected and abducted the victims,” an Emirati policeman said in records.
The worker who supplied the information to the gang remains at large.
Police did not reveal how much of the money was recovered.
A seventh man was arrested after being given Dh50,000 to squirrel away by one of the gang members.
He was charged with illegally obtaining money and was sentenced to a month in jail and deportation.
The six men involved in the robbery must also pay a combined fine of Dh1.1 million and are to be deported on serving their sentence.
The verdict is subject to an appeal which must be lodged within 15 days.
