Monday, Nov 24, 2008
Gulf News
Dubai: Police arrested a Chinese gang of nine, including a woman, for kidnapping a Chinese businessman for ransom.
Police freed the kidnapped victim just 48 hours after receiving a complaint.
Colonel Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Deputy Director of Dubai Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said the gang had blindfolded the victim and tied him to a bed and was tortured with electric devices.
He said Al Rashidiya Police Station received a complaint of missing person from L.H., a Chinese woman who worked at a shop at Dragon Mart in Al Aweer on November 16.
The Chief of Dubai Police had also received the missing report from a Chinese official and was following up the case closely.
Under watch
L.H. told police that her boyfriend, 24, who owns the shop, had left the shop around 9.30pm for their residence at International City.
After an hour, she received a call from an unknown man who spoke Chinese and told her that they had kidnapped her boyfriend and asked her to inform his family to arrange a ransom of Dh20 million for his release.
Colonel Al Mansouri said the CID formed a team to follow up the case and monitor all the places where the suspects could keep the victim.
On November 18, CID officials came to know that the gang was moving the victim daily between two locations - an apartment in Ajman and a traditional house in Fujairah - in a rented car.
"We kept a vigil on the building which housed a large number of bachelors as we saw some suspicious activities. We also came to know that the victim was being held in the Ajman apartment and the gang members were keeping a strict guard inside and outside the building," he said.
A CID team followed the suspects to Fujairah and kept the house under watch.
After getting permission from the Public Prosecution, CID teams raided the two locations at the same time to ensure the victim's safety.
"CID teams from Dubai Police decided to raid the locations at 4am in cooperation with Ajman and Fujairah police. Eight of the gang members, including a woman were arrested in the Ajman apartment, while their boss was arrested in the Fujairah house," Colonel Al Mansouri said.
He said the victim was found in a bad condition, blindfolded and his hands and legs tied to a bed. His body bore torture marks caused by electric devices. He was shifted to a hospital for treatment.
The victim told police that he did not know the suspects.
He, however, said that while he was at one of the banks to deposit a large amount of money, he saw a compatriot watching him, but he did not pay much attention.
He said the suspects attacked him while he was entering his building, immobilised him by delivering an electric shock and dragged him to their car after blindfolding him.
The suspects had originally demanded a ransom of Dh100 million, but after several rounds of discussions they agreed on Dh20 million.
"The boss of the gang had criminal records in his country, while some of the suspects were staying here illegally, others were on a visit," Colonel Al Mansouri said.
He said the suspects used weapons and violently resisted police during the raid.
Police team
Colonel Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Deputy Director of Dubai Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said 15 officers from Dubai Police participated in the operation of releasing the kidnapped man in addition to 13 junior officers and 70 policemen.
The operation was named "the zero hour" which refers to the time set for raiding the suspects' locations and freeing the hostage, said the official.
He said the police personnel involved in solving the case had excellent Chinese language skills which enabled them to solve the case quickly and efficiently.
Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.
