Indian among 5 arrested for car theft in Dubai

Dubai, Oct 4: An Indian national was among five persons arrested in Dubai for fraudulently buying cars using bogus cheques and selling them at higher prices.

They used to purchase secondhand cars over weekends by making payments in dud cheques and sell them at higher prices.

The gang's modus operandi was to buy the car over weekends and sell it before their victims realised they were cheated, the Khaleej Times reported.

The gang has confessed to committing 21 car thefts using this trick, Dubai Police said. Assistant commander in chief of the Dubai Police Major-General Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri said that gang used a bogus website to draw customers online.

He said the police formed a team to trace the stolen cars and were able to identify and arrest the five suspects.

During the police interrogation the suspects confessed to the crime. Ahmed Othman, a victim, said he sold his car to the gang after they contacted him online and agreed to pay him the amount he demanded for his used Mercedes S 61.

Othman said a well-spoken and confident man from the gang - who claimed to that he owned a car rental firm - approached him and said he was interested in buying his car.

Although, Othman quoted a high price for his car - Dh 800,000 - the latter agreed to buy it.

The suspect then issued Othman a cheque and a written agreement, the paper said. When Othman went to the bank with the cheque, he found that the cheque date was after one year.

He said after he searched for the buyer he found that his car had been sold to some one in Abu Dhabi only after two days.

PTI