Dubai: A gang stole mobile phones and surveillance cameras from a Dubai-based online shopping company by getting purchase numbers, as they hid their faces by wearing medical masks amid COVID-19 during the transaction.
According to the Dubai Court of First Instance, an Indian man, who was working for the company, gave a stolen Emirates ID to his three countrymen to get the goods worth Dh52,000. He taught them the procedures of delivering the items from the warehouse to the delivery men and gave them two orders to collect the goods from the warehouse at Jebel Ali area.
In July this year, the three Indian men went to the warehouse to collect the mobile phones and surveillance cameras using the stolen Emirates ID. During the transaction, they covered their faces with masks due to COVID-19.
The two companies who originally bought the goods, called the online shopping company asking for their items. A 30-year-old Jordanian employee in the online shopping company testified that a Pakistani man came to the warehouse to collect the items twice.
Alert and arrest
“We alerted Dubai Police who arrested the defendants. The fourth defendant, who used to work in the warehouse and is still at large, knew the procedures and about the goods. He knew the delivery orders and gave the numbers to the other defendants to steal the items,” said the Jordanian witness.
According to records, the Indian defendant has escaped from the country. The three defendants claimed they received Dh500 for their role in the scam. They used an Emirates ID that belonged to a Pakistani delivery man who lost the ID in 2019 and was issued a replacement.
Dubai Public Prosecution charged the defendants with forgery and stealing electronics worth Dh52,000.