Dubai taxi driver fled with passenger’s laptop, smartphone and passport, court hears

The taxi driver fled with a laptop, smartphone and passport but did not know the passenger had noted down his plate number.

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DUBAI // A taxi driver stole Dh7,000 worth of a passenger’s goods, a court heard.

Pakistani driver W A, 26, drove off with her bag containing a laptop, smartphone and her passport, among other items, after she had asked him to wait for her.

Uzbeki A A, 39, took a taxi from the Royal Falcon Hotel in Dubai on October 28.

“I kept my laptop next to me and on the way I asked the driver to stop near a supermarket,” she said.

She wrote down the taxi’s plate number as she walked towards the supermarket in Al Baraha. But when she returned five minutes later, the driver had fled.

Police arrested the driver, who confessed to taking advantage of the woman, leaving the cab and fleeing with her belongings.

“He said he left the stolen items with a friend,” said police officer E A.

The driver helped police to arrest his friend M A, also from Pakistan, who had stashed all the stolen items.

They included a Sony laptop, a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, four hairdryers, a large travelling bag containing women’s clothes, three bottles of perfume, two pairs of shoes and her passport.

The driver was charged with robbery while his friend was charged with possessing stolen goods.

The friend presented a waiver to the court stating the victim had dropped the charges against him.

Both defendants confessed at Dubai Criminal Court on Wednesday and a verdict is expected on January 29.

salamir@thenational.ae