RAS AL KHAIMAH // Police have arrested three men accused of tricking an Asian trader out of Dh29,000 (US$7,895) on Saturday and then trying to run him over. The trader, 35, had just withdrawn Dh40,000 from an RAK bank when the three suspects approached and asked him to show the notes, telling him that they were new to the UAE and not familiar with the currency, said Lt Col Salem Sultan al Darmaki, chief of the Criminal Investigation Department at Ras al Khaimah Police.
The trader showed them the money and even let them touch it. As the suspects were leaving, but still in his sight, the man counted the money and realised most of it was missing. "When he tried to follow them while calling the police, the suspects tried to run him over with their vehicle, causing him minor injuries on his feet and [he] managed to flee," Lt Col Darmaki said. The trader then phoned police, who sent detectives. They found and arrested the three suspects within 20 minutes. The men, in the country on visitor's visas, later confessed during interrogation, police said.
Police returned the man's missing money and referred the three men to prosecutors. Police said the scheme was the latest method used by thieves to target people who have just withdrawn money from bank machines. A trick used in Sharjah involves persuading people who had just been to an ATM machine to get out of their vehicles to check their tyres. Once they do, thieves make off with their bags. ykakande@thenational.ae