Three men arrested by Dubai security officers in connection with kidnapping

Police are still trying to identify the exact location of Abbas Yazasanpanah Yazdi, who was reported missing in June after he did not return to his home in Dubai.

Three men have been arrested in Dubai on suspicion of kidnapping a British businessman.

Abbas Yazasanpanah Yazdi, of Iranian origin, owns a public trade company based in Bur Dubai, and has been missing since June 25.

Security officers in the UAE identified the suspects and have now made arrests, the Dubai government said on Thursday.

Mr Yazdi’s belongings have been found in a house rented by one of the suspects, believed to be the gang’s leader, said police.

The authorities are still trying to find Mr Yazdi, reported the state news agency Wam.

The three arrested men were about to dispose of his belongings and documents, said Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, deputy chairman of police and general security in Dubai.

He called the arrest operation “well controlled”.

Relatives and friends believed Mr Yazdi, a 44-year-old father of two, was taken from the UAE to Iran.

A London-based Iranian opposition figure said that he believed Mr Yazdi had been kidnapped to gather evidence against Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was arrested after being accused of inciting unrest after the re-election in 2009 of the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ali Reza Nourizadeh also said he thought Mr Yazdi had been taken while on his way to Fujairah for what he thought was a business meeting.

"Allegations that elements in Iran might be responsible for Mr Yazdi's disappearance are plausible, and we are taking them very seriously," a UK government source said last year.