Gang 'assault and steal from man lured to hotel by fake Emirati woman'

The woman posed as an Emirati online to lure the man to a hotel room where the rest of the gang robbed him

A man was lured to a hotel room, tied up, assaulted and threatened to have both his legs broken before being robbed, Dubai Criminal Court heard on Thursday.

Prosecutors said six men and a woman — all Nigerian and aged between 21 and 32 — schemed to trick people online into thinking the woman was an Emirati looking for a relationship to lure men to the hotel room in Al Barsha and rob them.

The alleged victim — whose age and nationality were not disclosed in court records — said that after speaking to the woman who posed as an Emirati online they agreed to meet at her hotel room on September 12.
"I arrived at the hotel room to find a number of African men and women," the man said.

“They locked me up then stole the cash I had on me before they took my credit card and demanded I give them the pin code.”

He said the men threatened to break both his legs if he gave them a wrong pin number then stole his mobile phone, the Dh7,000-Rolex he was wearing, as well as a Dh1000 in cash and $2,800.
The defendants then allegedly stripped the man naked and used his mobile phone to take pictures of him which they said they would post online if he reported them to police.
Prosecutors said the defendants kept the victim locked up while one of the men used his credit card.

The man was released near three hours later after then reported the theft at Al Barsha police station.
A police officer said they raided the hotel apartment the same day and arrested six men but the woman is still at large.
During prosecution questioning two defendants admitted to using the woman to lure the man so they could rob him. They told prosecutors that all six of them took part in the crime.
In court on Thursday, the defendants did not enter a plea against charges of theft, confinement, sexual assault and issuing death threats.
The verdict will be issued on March 12.