6 women offer massage to men online in Dubai, rob them

The gang is on trial at a Dubai court

Six women stood trial on Monday at a Dubai court, accused of forming a gang that would lure men online by offering sex and massage services and later rob them in their apartment.
The Court of First Instance was told the women - all Nigerians on visit visas aged between 29 and 58 - would initiate a chat on Tango while using beautiful women's pictures and then invite the men over for massage or lure them for paid sex.
The women broke down in tears in court as the charges were read to them. They admitted to the charges of forcible theft, using others' names during police interrogation and overstaying with expired visas.
The women were spotted by an Emirati witness on the street on November 25, 2016. "I saw the African women entering a building and they smelled like they had been drinking liquor. Shortly later, I saw a man coming down with an injured hand. He told me he was assaulted by them, so I called the police," the Emirati, 24, said.
"We received a report around 1am about a problem at the Financial Centre area. We were told about some women running a prostitution den where they would assault and rob customers of cash and valuables. We learned every man would come out of that flat beaten up and robbed," a police sergeant said.
The police raided the flat with a public prosecution warrant and arrested the women and seized the knife they used to threaten the men with.
"I received a friend request from an unknown woman on Tango and accepted it. That woman told me she offered massage services at her hotel apartment and gave me her address. When I reached there, I could not find the woman who had talked to me earlier. But I was surprised to see six African women locking the door. They cornered and grabbed me and I knew there was no way out. I handed them Dh500 but one of them snatched Dh650 and $200 before letting me go," said a 28-year-old Iraqi on a visit visa.
A 27-year-Syrian told the prosecutor of a similar story of how he was lured on Tango into having sex for Dh600 on November 24, 2016. "I went there but I could not spot the beautiful European woman with whom I had the date. One of the women snatched my phone while they threatened and assaulted and searched for money. I gave them 1,000 Saudi Riyals so they let me out."
A 31-year-old Saudi, who also fell victim to the women accused, said he went there for a massage.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai