Mid-day car chase in UAE... Two foil daring bank robbery in RAK

A retired Emirati officer and an Egyptian man joined hands to capture Ethiopian thieves who robbed the National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK) in a daring midday car chase reminiscent of exciting detective movies.

The thieves, including four men and one woman, were travelling at 180 kph in their Toyoto Corolla after Wednesday’s robbery when the Emirati banged his car into their vehicle in a dangerous collision that resulted in the crippling of the Corolla.

The four male thieves then jumped out of the car and ran away while the woman carried on driving the car with a burst tyre before she was captured by the chasers. Police arrived later and arrested the remaining robbers.

Ibrahim Rashid Al Shehi, a retired Interior Ministry Lt Colonel, was driving through the Wikalat (agencies) street on Wednesday noon when he saw the Corolla rushing out of the bank area and speeding at 180 kph. Given his experience as a security man, he immediately suspected there is something wrong and decided to chase that car.

Just before the thieves managed to leave the city towards Dubai, he reached them and banged his vehicle into their car, prompting them to turn back towards RAK.

Shehi, 45, said the collision resulted in the burst of a tyre of the Corolla which later hit the pavement and stopped. He said the four male thieves jumped out of the car and ran away towards a desert area while the woman started the car again and drove away before the car stopped again and the woman jumped out.

At that time, Mohammed Saleh Mahmoud, a 33-year-old Egyptian who had seen the robbers leaving RAK, arrived in the scene and chased the woman. As he was just behind her, he grabbed her hair but it came off in his hand as it was a wig.

“I then pushed her and she fell on the ground…she was strong but I overpowered her until Shehi came and helped me…he then called the police who arrived in the scene within minutes and arrested the woman…she led the police to the other thieves and they were all arrested,” Mahmoud told Emarat Al Youm daily, which said both men were honoured by RAK police for their “courage.”

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