Gang arrested in connection to mobile phone scam in Abu Dhabi

Ten men were arrested in Abu Dhabi on Sunday for scamming mobile phone users out of money through fake promotional offers.

The gang, all of Asian origin, would send out SMS messages or call people persuading them to transfer money to currency exchange companies or phone credits as fees to receive prizes.

Police at Al Rahba Station first became aware of the scam after receiving reports from people who had been tricked into spending their savings on fake prizes, Brigadier Rashid Al Mesmari, Director of the External Regions Police of the Criminal Security Sector said.

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Scammers target Etisalat mobile users

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Police investigated the matter, identified the suspects and tracked their movements – which they described as being similar to a spider’s webs, reported state news agency Wam.

The gang was arrested in an operation code-named "The Spiders". Police also seized forged documents, devices and tools, as well as phones and cards used in the fraud.

Brig Al Mesmari warned mobile phone users to be wary of such scams and to report any suspected fraudulent messages to police immediately to avoid others being scammed.

While you're here

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COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others

The specs

Powertrain: Single electric motor
Power: 201hp
Torque: 310Nm
Transmission: Single-speed auto
Battery: 53kWh lithium-ion battery pack (GS base model); 70kWh battery pack (GF)
Touring range: 350km (GS); 480km (GF)
Price: From Dh129,900 (GS); Dh149,000 (GF)
On sale: Now

COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: OneOrder
Started: March 2022
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo
Number of staff: 82
Investment stage: Series A

Biggest applause

Asked to rate Boris Johnson's leadership out of 10, Mr Sunak awarded a full 10 for delivering Brexit — remarks that earned him his biggest round of applause of the night. "My views are clear, when he was great he was great and it got to a point where we need to move forward. In delivering a solution to Brexit and winning an election that's a 10/10 - you've got to give the guy credit for that, no-one else could probably have done that."

Saturday's results

Brighton 1-1 Leicester City
Everton 1-0 Cardiff City
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City

UAE medallists at Asian Games 2023

Gold
Magomedomar Magomedomarov – Judo – Men’s +100kg
Khaled Al Shehi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Faisal Al Ketbi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Asma Al Hosani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -52kg
Shamma Al Kalbani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -63kg
Silver
Omar Al Marzooqi – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Bishrelt Khorloodoi – Judo – Women’s -52kg
Khalid Al Blooshi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Mohamed Al Suwaidi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -69kg
Balqees Abdulla – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -48kg
Bronze
Hawraa Alajmi – Karate – Women’s kumite -50kg
Ahmed Al Mansoori – Cycling – Men’s omnium
Abdullah Al Marri – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Team UAE – Equestrian – Team showjumping
Dzhafar Kostoev – Judo – Men’s -100kg
Narmandakh Bayanmunkh – Judo – Men’s -66kg
Grigorian Aram – Judo – Men’s -90kg
Mahdi Al Awlaqi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -77kg
Saeed Al Kubaisi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Shamsa Al Ameri – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -57kg

Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history

- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon

- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.

- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater

- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.

- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.

- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.

-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.

SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

SPECS

Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):

Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Match will be shown on BeIN Sports

The Kitchen

Director: Daniel Kaluuya, Kibwe Tavares

Stars: Kane Robinson, Jedaiah Bannerman, Hope Ikpoku Jnr, Fiona Marr

Rating: 3/5

Kill

Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat

Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal

Rating: 4.5/5

FULL RESULTS

Middleweight

Eslam Syaha (EGY) bt Robin Roos (SWE)

Welterweight

Alex da Silva (BRA) bt Bagyash Zharmamatov (KGZ)
Murodov Samandar (TJK) bt Lucas Sampaio (BRA)
Shakhban Alkhasov (RUS) bt Salamat Orozakunov (KGZ)
Khotamjon Boynazarov (UZB) bt Mikail Bayram (FRA)

Bantamweight
Jieleyisi Baergeng (CHN) bt Xavier Alaoui (CAN)

Flyweight
Rashid Vagabov (RUS) bt Lun Qui (CHN)
Yamato Fujita (JPN) bt Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB)
Aaron Aby (WLS) bt Joevincent So (PHI)

Catchweight 176lb
Mark Hulm (RSA) bt Erkin Darmenov (KAZ)

Catchweight 160lb
Rustam Serbiev (BEL) bt Anar Huseyinov (AZE)

Catchweight 150lb

Islam Reda (EGY) bt Ernie Braca (PHI)

Flyweight (women)
Baktygul Kurmanbekova (KGZ) bt Maria Eugenia Zbrun (ARG)

if you go

The flights

Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes

The package

Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January

The info

Visit www.gokorea.co.uk

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire

Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Charlie Hunnam
Rating: 2/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends

TWISTERS

Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung

Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos

Rating:+2.5/5

More on Afghanistan

Sulaiman Hakemy: 'Afghan' is now a globalised identity, whether the Taliban likes it or not

Editorial: The US-Taliban deal is only the first step to peace

Ken Hedricks: The Afghan scorpion farmer harvesting valuable venom for international buyers

Sulaiman Hakemy: Afghanistan's election results are finally released, but leadership remains overdue

Astroworld
Travis Scott
Grand Hustle/Epic/Cactus Jack

Juventus v Napoli, Sunday, 10.45pm (UAE)

Match on Bein Sports

Russia's Muslim Heartlands

Dominic Rubin, Oxford

Wonka

Director: Paul King

Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant

Rating: 2/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures

Correspondents

By Tim Murphy

(Grove Press)