ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Sunday, August 9th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

Two suspects have been arrested for stealing a jewelry set, valued at Dh70,000, and for attacking a young man with a taser gun. The young man is the brother of a UAE citizen who had fallen victim to the fraudulent activity after advertising her jewelry set for sale on a website.

According to Colonel Dr. Rashid Mohammad Borshid, Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Abu Dhabi Police GHQ, details of the incident date back to last month, when the victim placed an ad on a website expressing her intent to sell a 38 carat gold and diamond jewelry set.

Col. Dr. Borshid said that the 24-year-old owner of the set received calls from people who expressed their interest in purchasing the jewelry, including the two culprits of Arab nationality. The culprits tried to lure the young woman into their trap, but it was her brother, aged 19, who fell for the scheme. The brother was accompanied by his friend who reported the incident.

He noted that both parties agreed to meet at a certain time and place in Abu Dhabi in order to complete the sale. The victim had sent a text message beforehand to the alleged buyer requesting his ID number so that she could include the details in the contract of sale. The culprit had provided her with fake details, impersonating someone else.

“The victim asked her brother to finalize the transaction,” said Col. Dr. Borshid. “The brother called the supposed buyer and they agreed to meet in the parking lot of an Abu Dhabi school that night. The first suspect, who had arrived alone in his own car, met with the victim’s brother at the agreed upon time to inspect the jewelry set. The suspect then phoned his accomplice, the second suspect in this incident, who arrived in another vehicle that had been nearby.” Col. Dr. Borshid then proceeded to describe how both suspects physically assaulted and used a taser gun on the young man before fleeing with the stolen jewelry.

The Head of the CID said that the victim’s friend reported the incident by phone, and a police patrol was sent to the scene to file a report and collect the evidence. The CID then formed an investigation team, who successfully identified and arrested the suspects, and retrieved the stolen jewelry in a record time.

During interrogations, the suspects A.A (aged 21), unemployed, and M.S. (aged 31), admitted to committing theft.  

Lieutenant Colonel Taher Al Dhaheri, Chief of the Organized Crime Section at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), warned against using unregulated websites for such transactions, where it is easier for professional conmen to exploit their victims. He also cautioned against trusting and dealing with strangers to avoid being robbed, especially in suspicious circumstances.

“Despite the fact that some online shopping websites are widely welcomed by their users, some of them are fraudulent and are being used by thieves to earn a living by stealing and committing fraud,” he said.  

Lt. Col. Al Dhaheri noted that the most important step in such cases is to report the incident to the police as quickly as possible. He explained that the trained staff are able to handle the search and investigations processes for these kinds of cases in order to guarantee the swift capture of culprits.

The Chief of the Organized Crime Section at the Abu Dhabi Police pointed to the importance of raising the awareness of the public about the legal and safe ways to buy and sell online, to protect the community from weak-minded people who exploit the needs and hopes of others in order to steal their money and goods.

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The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com

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