Emirati held by mistake for name resemblance

An Emirati returning from a holiday in neighbouring Oman was shocked when he was told he was under arrest on the grounds he is wanted in a legal financial case. But the arrest later turned out to be a mistake.

Obaid Al Muhairi was stopped at Rams border entry point in Ras Al Khaimah as he headed back with his family from Oman.

“Muhairi was told he is under arrest as he is wanted by police in a legal financial case,” the Arabic language daily 'Emarat Alyoum' reported on Thursday.

“Police told him that there is a warrant against him barring him from travel and detaining him because he was involved in a case requiring him to pay Dh118,000…he was later released on bail.”

The paper said Muhairi then headed for Abu Dhabi and tried to pay the sum to the court to clear his name.

“In the court, he was told that there was a mistake in his arrest because there is a resemblance of his name to another defendant…the judge apologised to him and assured him that the mistake was unintentional,” it said.

It quoted Capital police director Brigadier Maktoum Al Sharifi as saying the interior ministry had been contacted to remove the warrant against Muhairi.

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