8 defendants jailed over Dh3.6m heist

Eight men have been jailed for three years each for luring three employees of money exchange houses to a hotel to exchange $1 million (Dh3.67 million) and stealing the equivalent amount in dirhams. The three employees, from two different money exchange houses, were contacted by a Jordanian businessman who wanted to convert $1 million to dirhams in February in Dubai. The Indian employees communicated between each other and arranged Dh3.6 million that was meant to be handed over in exchange for the $1 million to the businessman at a hotel room in Deira. Four Africans showed up at the hotel room where the employees were present, assaulted, tied up and threatened them with knives and absconded with Dh3.6 million. The victims called the police immediately and gave details about a Cameroonian man, who had driven the other four robbers to the hotel in a car.

The eight culprits, six Cameroonians and two Malians, were identified and apprehended one at a time within few days after the incident.

In May, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendants of beating the Indian employees, tying them with ropes, stealing their cash, threatening them with sharp tools and possession of the stolen millions.

The defendants appealed their primary judgements before the Appeal Court and sought to have their imprisonments reduced. Three of the defendants pleaded guilty before the Appeal Court. They told the court that the other five defendants were not involved in the heist. One of the Indian employees testified that his Sri Lankan friend told him over the phone about the Jordanian businessman who wanted to convert $1 million to dirhams.