Gang denies robbing Dh1 million

A gang of Nigerian men accused of robbing a money exchange office in the Capital claimed their fugitive accomplice had masterminded the robbery.

At the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance, seven men stood trial for robbing a foreign exchange office in Musaffah area of Dh970,000. One of the accused is being tried in absentia as he is still at large.

Court records stated that members of the gang named 'Dark Sky' - aged between 30 and 35 - carried out the robbery in January 2017 after threatening the staff with swords and iron rods.

"The men had interrupted the money exchange staff when they were transferring funds into special vehicles meant for the purpose," said prosecutors. And in the latest hearing, all the accused denied the robbery charge.

They told the court that their accomplice, who is still at large and is being tried in absentia, had planned the robbery and tricked them into following him.

"He had masterminded the robbery and arranged everything," they told the court.

"He just asked us to accompany him as he was going to pick up his money. I didn't know that it was robbery," said one of the defendants.

Police investigations suggested that the gang had been closely monitoring the money transferring activity at the exchange for a few days before the robbery and timed their arrival accordingly.

They had allegedly forced the employees to hand over the money from the vans to them and fled away using a rental car hired from another emirate using forged documents.

The Abu Dhabi Police arrested the men and recovered the stolen money from Sharjah.

During police interrogation, the defendants admitted to the robbery, stressing that they also got rid of some phones and calling cards, throwing it away at the crime scene in order to distract and mislead the investigation process.

Officers said the gang had also changed vehicles to confuse the police, discarding the vehicle they used to make their getaway from the money exchange in another emirate, and then using another vehicle to reach Sharjah.

Source: Khaleej Times