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Justice meted out to crooks who tricked Saudi national

DUBAI - He thought he was getting rich quick and expected $50 million to land in his lap, but A. R. H., a Saudi Arabian national, could not have been mistaken when he replied to an e-mail from two Nigerians, who said that they wanted to invest their fortune in the kingdom through him. But, of course, there was a catch.

The two Nigerian men wanted A.R.H. to pay them £13,000 as processing and attorney's fees before they deliver the money, in cash, in a big metal safe box to him personally! The circumstances of the exchange alone should have made him suspicious, but A.R.H. was undaunted in his drive to make the deal of a lifetime.

The victim arranged to meet the two men, B.L.A., 39, and T.D.A., 36, in the parking lot of a five star hotel in Bur Dubai for the exchange at 10pm on August 11 last year. As promised the two Nigerian men arrived on time in a Saudi registered car.

The victim was told by the two conmen that the safe box was in their car. The victim then handed over the £13,000 as agreed and the safe box was removed from the trunk and delivered to A.R.H., but the two Nigerians sped off in their car before opening the safe or giving the defendant the combination. Stunned by the unexplained actions of the two men, A. R. H. finally called the police.

The safe was empty and the two men were arrested and brought to book by the police. The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the two men to nine months in prison each, a sentence on Sunday confirmed and upheld by the Dubai Appeal Court.

• UAE