A panic-stricken passenger who misplaced a bag containing $20,000 and 150g of gold at Dubai International Airport was reunited with her valuable belongings before she flew out of the country.
The Arab traveller had lost the bag while in Terminal 1, but was unsure about how to report the incident and feared missing her flight to Saudi Arabia.
A keen-eyed airport employee spotted the black bag in an open area of the terminal and notified Dubai Police security teams on site.
With no lost property report having being made, it left officers with a race against time to find the rightful owner before she boarded a plane to Saudi Arabia.
“Upon inspecting its contents, the bag was found to contain $20,000, 150 grams of gold, other currencies, mobile phones of various brands, and personal documents,” said Colonel Abdullah Faisal Al Dosari, Director of the Terminal 1 Security Department at Dubai Police.
Col Al Dosari said while the documents revealed the identity of the bag's owner, locating and contacting her required forming a team to trace her movements, especially since no report had been filed for lost property matching this description.
"The operations room was notified and the necessary procedures were taken to locate the bag's owner. It turned out she was about to leave the country for Saudi Arabia," he said.
"She was extremely worried about losing her bag, unsure how to proceed, and afraid of missing her flight."
Dubai Police handed the bag over to the traveller after verifying that it belonged to her and establishing she had all required permits and documentation.
The passenger thanked Dubai Police for their timely efforts to return her lost belongings and ensure a happy end to her stay in Dubai.
Police on alert
It marks the second time in a week that Dubai Police's General Department of Airport Security have come to the aid of a traveller who had left behind their luggage.
Last Saturday, police said they had returned a black bag containing silver worth Dh2 million to an Asian man at the airport.
The passenger was about to board his flight at Terminal One when he raised the alarm after realising his belongings were missing.
Officers conducted a search of the terminal and departure halls and retraced the passenger’s last known movements after checking the airport’s CCTV.
The bag was located shortly afterwards and returned to the passenger, after he had presented proof of ownership.
