DUBAI// A former professional footballer and his accomplice had their ten year sentence for an armed robbery of a money exchange upheld by the court of appeal on Monday.
F I, 21, from France, who used to play for a Dubai-based Pro League Club, and his compatriot K H, 39, were convicted of threatening the exchange house’s employees with a gun and stealing Dh1 million. They were also convicted of possessing an unlicensed firearm and a stolen car.
The acquittal of F I’s former Emirati teammate M A, 32, and his 39-year-old brother A A on charges of aiding and abetting and stealing a Chevrolet that the French defendants used in the robbery, was upheld by the appeals court.
A Dh6,000 fine handed to each one of the Emirati brothers for smuggling a handgun from Oman to Dubai and selling it to F I was also annulled by the court.
F I confessed to all charges in the criminal court last March and said he purchased the handgun from the brothers for Dh1,500.
The robbery of the Redha Al Ansari exchange in Motor City in September 2012 took less than 30 seconds to complete.
F I had said in court that they chose this exchange because they knew it had poor security measures.
“K H and I bought sports clothes, gloves and face masks for the robbery. Meanwhile M A got the car from a bootlegger and parked it under my residence,” claimed F I.
He then told the court how employees at the money exchange cowered under their desks as he carried out the raid. His compatriot held the gun while he filled a bag with money and the pair fled.
The two robbers hid the gun and money inside a washing machine and their clothes in the attic of their home.
An Emirati police lieutenant testified that the stolen Chevrolet was abandoned in a remote, sandy area near Motor City.
The Frenchmen were arrested shortly after the robbery at a hotel in Sheikh Zayed Road. They confessed to the robbery and that the brothers sold them the gun, testified a police officer.
A deportation order against the pair was also upheld by the appeals court.
salamir@thenational.ae
