Dubai: Man lured into fake massage centre, robbed of Dh50,000 by gang of four

A gang of four, including a woman, have been sentenced to jail for luring a man with a fake advertisement of a massage centre on social media and robbing him of Dh50,000. The gang assaulted the victim and threatened to kill him.

One of the gang members was arrested and referred to the Public Prosecution, and from there to the Criminal Court in Dubai, which sentenced him to three years imprisonment and others in absentia. The court also ordered them jointly pay back the stolen amount.

According to police records, a European man reported that he was assaulted, threatened and robbed of Dh50,000 from his bank account by two Africans. The victim stated that he saw an advertisement on Facebook about a centre that provides services to those interested.

He contacted the centre and booked an appointment. The 'owner' sent him the address and the building number where the massage parlour was located.

He arrived at the specified time and met an African woman. As soon as he entered the apartment, he was surprised to see three men who had assaulted him and threatened to kill him with a knife.

They forced him to hand them his money and bank card. When he tried to resist, they continued to assault him and strip him of his clothes. They seized his bank card and its secret numbers and managed to withdraw Dh50,000 from his account. They then left him inside the fake centre and fled from the place.

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