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11 charged with robbing brothers of Dh7m during bitcoin deal in Dubai

Dubai - The incident was reported to Al Muraqqabat police station on April 25.

Eleven men have been charged at a Dubai court in connection with luring two twin brother traders to an office where the victims were assaulted and robbed under duress of Dh7 million.
The eleven, including one Emirati, six Pakistanis, one stateless, two Bangladeshis, a Yemeni, are aged between 26 and 57.
The Emirati, the stateless and two Pakistanis are charged at the Court of First Instance with the forcible robbery using sharp tools.
The others are charged with aiding and abetting the robbery by either planning it or keeping a watch and facilitating the getaway of the three prime accused in their cars with the stolen cash.
One of them had even provided his office for the meeting venue for the deal and facilitated his accomplices' entry into the building parking to evade security. They all split the cash later.
The incident was reported to Al Muraqqabat police station on April 25.
One of the brothers, a 28-year-old Indian, said he had interest in purchasing bitcoins. "About ten days prior to the incident, I contacted a broker. I told him I wanted to buy 200 such notes which are worth Dh7 million. We agreed to meet at an office located in the same building where a clearance firm for such transactions is located in Al Muraqqabat."
The complainant said he brought several men with him just in case anything wrong happened because he carried a large amount of cash with him. "The other party only allowed me to take one man with me inside. As soon as my brother and I entered the company office after 8pm, one of them asked to see the money and we showed it to him. He then walked out of the office and kept talking on his mobile phone."
At that moment, four persons entered the office, one of them claiming he was an officer from the criminal investigation department (CID). "He said dealing in bitcoins was illegal here. The men then beat me and my brother up and took us to another room and robbed the cash while threatening us with a razor blade," the trader recounted.
The two brothers got thrashed as they fought back to stop the robbery. Their mobile phones were also taken.
The trader told the investigators he identified the suspects among others at the police station.
His twin brother corroborated his statement during the investigation.
A police captain said the incident was reported on April 25. "We first arrested the Emirati accused based on the descriptions of the traders. He confessed he robbed them with his accomplices."