DUBAI // Three Iranians accused of robbing two money exchanges in Sharjah in daring daylight heists using 9mm calibre handguns will probably face several charges, a prosecutor said yesterday. The men, identified as AK, AM and AH, were arrested on February 1 when officers raided a flat in Deira's Al Baraha district, after an investigation by Dubai Police. Prosecutors say the men attacked the money exchanges in January, storming the offices with their faces covered with stockings and firing Iraqi and Czech-made 9mm handguns into the air before escaping in a stolen vehicle.
Police have not revealed the names or locations of the two money exchanges, or the amount of money stolen, which is their standard policy. Yousif Foulaz, Deira's Chief Prosecutor, said the Dubai Public Prosecutor's Office was waiting for a ballistics report before transferring the case to their colleagues in Sharjah, who will lay the charges. He said the men could expect to face a long list of them, including armed robbery, car theft, illegal weapons possession, and illegal entry into the country. They could also face a charge of illegal consumption of alcohol since they were allegedly found drinking when police raided their flat.
Mr Foulaz, who added that the suspects confessed during questioning, said one of the suspects had been previously deported from Dubai and had a criminal record. "He illegally re-entered Dubai from Iran through a mountainous region and met with the second defendant," he said. Dubai Police said three teams of investigators were used to track down the suspects - one that conducted undercover surveillance, one that gathered background information and another that determined how they entered the country.
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