DUBAI // A jobless Russian and his two Uzbek friends attacked an Emirati trader and stole his watch, worth Dh400,000, a court has heard.
Prosecutors told Dubai Criminal Court that the owner bought the Swiss-made watch – one of only 88 in the world – but later decided to post it on Dubizzle for sale.
“Two days after I made the post, I received a WhatsApp message from a man interested in the watch and asking for details and more pictures of it,” said the trader, 24.
“Later he called me and introduced himself and said he was very much interested in the watch.”
They agreed to meet at a hotel on December 23 at 6pm, he said, but the buyer called and apologised for not being there, claiming he had been in a car accident.
On December 27, the trader was again contacted by the buyer, who begged that the watch not be sold to anyone else and that he would pay in cash.
“He said that his only problem was that he couldn’t come to meet me because of his injuries from the car crash and asked if I could come to his Mirdif home, which I did,” said the Emirati.
“I felt scared for some reason and once I got in two men attacked me. So did the fake buyer, who strangled me while the other men started punching me to the head.
“I fainted and woke up minutes later to find the apartment completely dark.”
He said he told the attackers that he wanted nothing from them, just to go home.
“They let me out and I ran to my car and sat for a second, then I called police,” the trader said.
The trio, aged between 24 and 29, were arrested and charged with theft and physical assault. The Russian denied all charges while the other two confessed to theft but denied physical assault.
The next hearing is scheduled for May 14.
salamir@thenational.ae