Men who kidnapped nephew of alleged conman in Dubai are jailed

Bangladeshis say the victim's uncle ran off with Dh37,000 of their money.

DUBAI // Four men who kidnapped the nephew of a man they said conned them out of Dh37,000 were jailed for a year each.

Bangladeshis S L, 30, S M, 24, and M A, 35, said a man had taken their money to issue them with work visas in Dubai but instead fled with it, Dubai Criminal Court heard.

The three defendants, who appeared in court two years ago, denied charges of kidnap but the fourth defendant, M J, was not present at the time and he remained at large until being arrested this year.

On June 8, 2013 the four lured the nephew into a car then took him to a house in Satwa, where he was locked up for four days.

The victim, R A, whose age and nationality were not given, said his kidnappers told him he would remain locked up until his uncle repaid the money he took.

“They told me my uncle took their money to issue them work visas but did not do and never returned their money,” said the nephew.

He said he was allowed to make one phone call, to his mother, to tell her about his ordeal and that none of the men assaulted him.

A report of the incident was sent through Dubai Police’s website but records did not mention who sent the report.

Officers managed to release R A after tracking down the defendants to the flat where he was being held.

Three of them were arrested at the time, while M J remained on the run until this year. No details of his arrest were available.

S L, S M, and M A were convicted in January last year and were deported after they served their jail terms. M J will also be deported after completing his jail sentence.