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28 March 2024

Airport staffer steals handbag with ATM card

Published
By Eman Al Baik

A Tunisian customer service employee at Dubai airport allegedly stole a sack that a traveller had forgotten on his desk, which contained his ATM card and the secret number together with gold earrings.

KB, 28, who was weighing passengers’ luggage, asked the victim ML, a mason, to pay for his extra weight at the specified counter.

“I went to the counter for paying for the excess luggage charge, leaving my luggage trolley at the check-in counter. After paying the fees, I returned to my luggage trolley. However, I did not find the sack that I had put on top of the trolley. I searched for it but in vain, so I went to the airport police to lodge a complaint. Police advised me to catch my flight and to lodge the complaint after returning to the UAE,” he told investigators.

When the victim reached home, he contacted the bank to block the ATM card. But, by that time, Dh9,000 had already been withdrawn from ML’s account.

When ML returned to the UAE, he lodged a police complaint. Police investigated and found out that the sack was actually on the counter desk of KM at the time when the passenger was getting his luggage weighed. The passenger left the counter, leaving behind the sack on the counter desk. After a few minutes, the camera showed that the sack was not at the scene which showed the customer service employee.Police also reviewed camera footages at ATMs and shops where the victim’s bank card was used.

“In all cases, we found two men who looked like Arabs using the card. Police became certain that the customer service staffer was the one who stole the passenger’s sack. After he was arrested, KB, 28 admitted that MH, 23, compatriot visitor, was his accomplice and they had stolen a total of Dh9,000 from the victim’s account. The two accused signed on purchase bills forging the signature of the victim.

The Court will reconvene on April 27.