Dubai Police recover stolen car from middle of the sea

A former UAE resident is heaping praises on the Dubai Police, who recovered his stolen car from the middle of the sea and brought it back to the country. The police intercepted the ship before it reached its destination.

Recounting the case, American citizen Brian Sidle said he put his car up for sale after losing his job as a manager in Dubai amid the Covid-19 pandemic. He was in desperate need of cash to pay off his loans, rent, school fees and bills.

“I was notified of my termination on March 31. My employer did not pay my March salary and other expenses, for which I had to pay on their behalf. After a month of search, it became apparent that I was not going to find a job quickly,” the father of three told Khaleej Times.

Shortly after putting his car on sale, Brian was contacted by an ‘interested buyer’. Reeling under the pressure of unemployment and the strain of financial dues, and in “a moment of foolishness”, Brian agreed to give his car against a cheque after the ‘buyer’ produced an ID, a driving licence and a cheque book.

“He paid me with a cheque. That was on June 2,” Brian said.

A few days later, the cheque bounced and after failing to sort the matter out with the ‘buyer’, Brian reported the incident to the Dubai Police.

Brian then returned to Texas in the US. “I learned later that the police had tracked down the ring of car thieves.

“Apparently, my car was put in a container, loaded on a boat, and was on its way to be shipped to Greece. Just in the nick of time, they (the police) discovered where it was and were able to prevent it from being off-loaded in Greece.

“Gone on June 2, the car was recovered about two months later. The (police’s) anti-fraud team pursued a difficult investigation. Honestly, I am truly amazed with what they were able to accomplish.

“I don’t have many details of what they did or how they did it. Thank you, (Dubai Police), for your tireless work and dedication, taking the initiative to continue the investigation and the pursuit even after learning that the car was no longer in the country,” Brian said.

He came back to the UAE last week to receive the car. He has now sold it to a genuine customer and flew back to the US.

How police tracked the car

Captain Ahmed Suheil Al Samahi, head of the anti-fraud crimes section, Anti-economic crimes unit, Dubai Police, confirmed to Khaleej Times that Sidle had filed a complaint.

“We learned he was given a bad cheque and was a victim of fraud by a gang. They defrauded him of his car, which they kept away from sight in an abandoned place for some time so as to ship it abroad later.”

An investigation revealed that the vehicle was shipped in a container outside the UAE. “The investigation team recovered the car from the middle of the sea, in coordination with the customs authorities. It was delivered back to the complainant as per the legal procedures.”

Brian has lived in the Middle East for nine years, including three in Dubai.

He has now settled back in Texas. “I am indeed keeping high hopes on coming back to the UAE. I just like it there. The diversity and people getting along, the safety and security ... what the police did is just amazing.”

mary@khaleejtimes.com

Marie Nammour

Originally from Lebanon, Marie has been covering the Dubai Courts and the Public Prosecution, immigration and labour issues often, Lebanese community-related affairs and the Dubai International Film Festival. A graduate from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh, a city to the north of Beirut, Marie worked as an in-house reporter, covering international affairs for the LBCI and the LBC Sat (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International), a leading TV station back home and a legal translator for Sagesse, a renowned law college in the heart of the Lebanese capital. Marie speaks fluently Arabic, French, English and Spanish. She is fond of travelling, psychology, learning more and of the French literature.