DUBAI // Four men who kidnapped gold traders and stole more than Dh1 million in different currencies from them were each sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday.
Bangladeshis J N, 19, M Y, 18, O A, 23, and Y T, 19, kidnapped their countrymen, robbed them, then covered their faces and tied their hands before abandoning them in a deserted area.
Dubai Criminal Court heard that on January 14, victims M R, 27, and M A, 29, arrived in the Naif area of Deira at 9pm carrying the cash and headed to meet another trader to buy nine kilograms of gold.
“A number of men came to us and said they were police officers,” said M R, who added that he and M A were asked for their identification, which they presented before being taken to a white car.
“They covered our faces and tied our hands then drove for about 50 minutes before they threw us out in a sandy area and drove off with the cash.”
After about two hours, the pair managed to untie themselves and remove the masks to find out they had been dumped in the Mleiha area of Sharjah.
M R called his boss and informed him of what had happened and the boss informed police right away.
On January 16, the defendants were arrested.
During investigations, J N confessed to the crime after spending two days with his accomplices observing the victims conducting their business in Naif.
He said the mastermind was a fifth man, who remains unidentified in records. Investigations revealed that he left the country on January 15 with his share of the stolen cash.
J N also said that, after the robbery, they headed to Ajman, where he was given his share, Dh175,000, of the total stolen, while M Y took Dh100,000 and the other two took the remaining cash to split with the mastermind.
The defendants were charged with kidnap and robbery, which they denied in court last April.
They will all be deported after completing their jail terms.
salamir@thenational.ae
