Filipina 'ghosts' in to rob UAE exchange [video]

A Filipina dressed in a black 'abaya',  which made her look like a ‘ghost’, attempted to rob a money exchange  in Abu Dhabi after threatening employees with what turned out to be a fake plastic gun. The suspect also had a sharp knife in her possession, and intended to use it in the event her threats with the false gun were unsuccessful. 

The Abu Dhabi Police announced that the Operations Room had received notification last Thursday regarding the attempted robbery. Police teams were immediately despatched to the location and handled the situation efficiently.

The police noted that by the time they arrived to the scene, an altercation between the employees of the money exchange  and the suspect had already occurred and no one had been injured. The police team took all the necessary precautionary measures while apprehending the woman and prevented her from fleeing.

The suspect was then frisked by female police officers and the items in her possession were confiscated.

Colonel Dr. Rashid Mohammad Borshid, Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Abu Dhabi Police, said: “Preliminary investigations revealed that the arrested woman, identified as ALR., 33 years, is a Filipino national and an illegal resident in the UAE. She was wearing black gloves and wore a black full-face veil with a white scarf on the head.

"She held a black cloth in her hand, which she used to conceal the fake gun that she had threatened the exchange centre employees with , to avoid leaving any finger prints, and to avoid being recognised or caught on CCTV. The woman threatened the employees at gun point and asked them to give her money.”

During interrogation, the woman confessed that she had planned the robbery to settle her outstanding debt, which amounted to about Dh140,000. She also said she had purchased the abaya, the black veil, and the white head scarf from a shopping centre, and the plastic gun from another store.

Colonel Dr. Rashid Mohammad Borshid said that upon frisking the suspect, a knife was found. “Police officers managed to prevent the woman from using the knife as she resisted arrest when they raided the location,” he said.

The above video is by courtesy of Abu Dhabi Police.

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