Dubai Police have solved an eight-year-old rape case - after advances in technology and family ties helped unmask the perpetrator.
The crime against an Arab woman was reported in Dubai in 2011 but, despite ongoing efforts, the man behind the attack remained elusive.
While it may have appeared all hope had been lost, a policy to continuously review unresolved crimes as investigative techniques improves and new technology emerges paid off.
Maj Gen Khalil Al Mansouri, a criminal investigations chief at Dubai Police, said there was insufficient evidence to charge a suspect at the time but DNA samples from the crime scene were preserved.
Years later, police matched the offender's DNA with that of his brother, who also had a criminal record, to crack the mystery.
Dr Rashed Alghafri, head of biology at the forensics and criminology department of the force, said that no case ever truly runs cold.
"Dubai Police did not lose sight of the case during those years, so forensic experts sought the latest developed technologies used in DNA testing to identify the perpetrator, and they matched the available evidence to the DNA of his brother who has a criminal record," Dr
Alghafri said.
""Through utilizing DNA technology and conducting further tests, Dubai Police succeeded in identifying the real perpetrator."
Police said the guilty party had died prior to being identified.
