Nigerian claims he carried out Dh970k heist on his own

Official court records stated that the gang named 'Dark Sky' carried out the robbery at the money exchange

One of the Nigerian men accused of robbing a money exchange office in Abu Dhabi claims he carried out the robbery alone and wants the court to acquit the rest.

The seven Nigerians allegedly took away Dh970,000 from the workers.

They are on trial at the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance for charges of robbery and forging official documents.

Official court records stated that the gang named 'Dark Sky' whose members were aged between 30 and 35, carried out the robbery at the money exchange office in Musaffah area in January 2017 using knives and iron tools to intimidate the workers into handing them over the cash.

"The men pounced on the money exchange staff during their official working hours, when they were in the process of transferring funds in special vehicles," said prosecutors.
Dh970,000 money exchange robbery gang busted in Abu Dhabi

The gang had been closely monitoring the money transfer activity at the exchange for a few days before the robbery and timed their arrival accordingly, police investigations reveal.

Officers said the men forced the employees of the money exchange office to hand over the money from the vans to them and fled using a rental car hired from another emirate with forged documents.

In a previous hearing, all the men denied the charges of robbery and forgery.

And in the latest hearing on Monday, one of the men - the fourth defendant in the case - retracted his earlier denial and told the court that he was guilty of the charges.

"I am guilty of the charges. I'm solely responsible for the robbery and all these other men had no hand in it," the Nigerian said in the court.

He also told the judge that he had planned and executed the robbery single-handedly and that the rest of the defendants were not responsible for anything.

He denied knowing the other Nigerian men and asked the court for their acquittal claiming that they were innocent.

Prosecutors said the Abu Dhabi Police had investigated the matter immediately after the robbery and arrested the men from Sharjah where they were hiding and also recovered the stolen cash.

The cops had worked together with the Dubai and Sharjah police departments in arresting the gang.

During police interrogation, the Nigerians admitted to the robbery admitting that they also got rid of some phones and calling cards, throwing them away at the crime scene in order to distract and mislead the investigation process.

Officers said the gang had also changed vehicles to confuse the police, discarding the car they used to make their escape from the money exchange office in another emirate, and then using another vehicle to reach Sharjah.

The trial has been adjourned until May 17.

• Abu Dhabi