'Slippery' thieves slip into police custody

A gang of thieves illegally staying in the UAE found a novel way to steal victims. They used to stalk their victims near banks in Sharjah, divert their attention by pouring engine oil on their car's tyres, and then snatch the victoms' money once he would get out of his car to investigate.

Finally, however, they themselves slipped into the firm grip of the police.

The trick allegedly succeeded with many victims, until the thieves were themselves stalked by detectives and caught red-handed.

The unidentified men used to allegedly stalk targets near banks in Sharjah's several areas, including Rola, Corniche Road and Khalid Lagoon, and, according to reports in local media, had managed to steal large sums of money from victims misled into believing that those men were only trying to help them as their cars begun to slip just after starting the engine.

“Once the car started to slip, they would come to the driver and tell him there is a problem… he would then get out of the car while other members of the gang used to come from the other side and take away envelop containing money just withdrawn from the bank,” Emirat Alyoum daily said.

Police said they decided to act after receiving reports of many thefts near banks in different areas of the northern city, adding that they posted plain-clothes detectives in suspected areas.

“Our detectives managed to identify the thieves and waited for them near a bank. When a customer left the bank and was heading back for his car, they poured engine oil on his vehicle’s tyre,” a police official said.

“As they pretended they to help the driver, our men were on them…two tried to flee but we succeeded in capturing them all.”

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