Four men attacked an accountant carrying more than Dh600,000, debilitating him with pepper spray before fleeing with the cash, a Dubai court heard on Thursday.
Prosecutors said that on May 15 the accountant and his colleague were getting into their company car, which had a driver that police said plotted with the four - who also worked at the same company - to steal the cash.
The defendants, two Pakistanis, aged 30 and 40, and three Bangladeshis, aged 28, 29 and 29, allegedly carried out the crime at 10.30am on the day of the incident near the bank where they lifted the cash on Sheikh Zayed Road.
“I received a call informing me of the incident in which a bag containing Dh679,665 was stolen from the accountant after his face was sprayed with pepper,” said a Pakistani employee, 36.
“I immediately headed to them and accompanied them to the police station and reported the incident.”
He added that police investigated and later told him that the crime was carried out by some of the company’s employees.
“Two of them worked as drivers, two others as construction workers and the fifth as a mechanic,” added the Pakistani employee.
The accountant told prosecutors that when they left the bank, the driver stopped the car suddenly, after which four men opened the car’s doors and attacked them then sprayed them with chili pepper powder before stealing the bag containing the money.
“It was the driver who called police at first, then I was informed by police that it was him who planned the whole thing,” said the accountant.
A police lieutenant said suspicions were raised about the driver after he gave misleading information, contradicting that provided by the accountant and his colleague.
“The accountant and other man said that the attackers were Asians - the driver said that they were Africans,” said the police officer, adding that further investigations proved the driver’s involvement, so he was arrested. It was not revealed how the other four were implicated.
“They all admitted [it] during questioning and said the driver was the mastermind behind the job,” said the officer.
The money was found in the men’s possessing when they were arrested the following day.
At Dubai Criminal Court, the five men denied a robbery charge.
The next hearing is on August 28.
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Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
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