DUBAI // A motorist took the offer of a “drive through” literally and ploughed his vehicle through a wall at a food court.
Lunchtime diners were left bewildered after a Jaguar car, with its headlights on, came through the glass at a food court at an Enoc station in Jafza on Wednesday.
The British owner had to wait with the vehicle parked in the food court for about two hours before police came and towed the car away.
In the meantime, visitors bought French fries from fast-food chains and enjoyed the spectacle.
“It was a bit sudden at first, but no one really screamed,” said a restaurant employee. “Everyone had their cameras out and were filming or taking pictures. Everyone thought it was pretty funny.”
The car was parked outside, facing into the food court, and had mounted a curb before coming through the glass wall.
Another employee at a neighbouring restaurant said he had heard that the driver had hit the gas rather than the brake.
“He must have been a top manager of a big company, it was a very nice car,” he said. “I think he was a bit embarassed by everyone taking pictures.
A spokesman for Enoc said that the motorist had “lost control” of the car.
“No one was injured,” the spokesman said. “The authorities are investigating the incident. The section of the food court that was damaged will commence operation after repairs.”
All the restaurants remained open for the rest of the day, except for a juice bar directly next to where the incident took place. By 4pm a huge pile of glass had been swept to the corner of the food court, and the car was long gone.
“It looks like it was a big accident,” said Sajid Ahmed, who works in the free zone and was grabbing a late lunch. “I wish I’d been here to see it.”
mcroucher@thenational.ae
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
