Man locks up Indian job-seeker in Dubai, demands Dh1 million for release

Dubai - The Briton has been jailed; the Indian was in Dubai on a visit visa.

A British man, who illegally confined an Indian at a hotel apartment for a day and demanded Rs20 million (approximately Dh1 million) for his release, has been jailed for a year by a Dubai court.

The Court of First Instance heard the 37-year-old man, who was in the UAE on a visit visa, locked the victim up on June 3, 2017, and threatened to kill him if he didn't pay up the amount or register a plot of land in his name. He also tried to extort money out of the victim's brother in the UK, but his attempts were foiled because he was caught by the police.

He had denied in court the charges of illegal confinement, making criminal threats and blackmail. The court found him guilty of the charges and ordered his deportation at the end of his prison term.
The incident was reported to Al Qusais police station.
The victim, 31, who was in Dubai on a visit visa, said that about six months prior to the incident, he had met a 'woman' online, who offered him a job. It later emerged that this person was the convict posing as a woman. "The defendant got a visit visa issued for me and received me at the Dubai International Airport. He introduced himself as the PRO of the company I would work for. And he then took me to a hotel."
After he rented a hotel room for the victim, the accused told him he would be held there till his brother paid the ransom money. A relative of the victim alerted the police after the convict contacted the brother.

mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai