Man kidnapped, blackmailed over his illegal residency status in Dubai

Sohaila Ahmed, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Public Prosecution has referred an Asian gang of four to the Criminal Court for kidnapping, brutally assaulting and filming the assault to blackmail a man into paying them Dhs20,000.

Details of the incident date back to last August, when the defendants decided to kidnap the victim and take advantage of his illegal residency status to earn money.

The defendants kidnapped and held the victim inside a villa and threatened to kill him.

After they had filmed the assault, they attempted to move the victim to another location and leave him there.

However, while doing so, the defendants noticed a police patrol nearby.

They headed to the police patrol and claimed that the victim had initiated a brawl between them and that he was an illegal resident.

After investigating their allegation, police learnt about the kidnapping and assault crime.

When questioned, the victim testified that he entered the UAE illegally, and that one of the defendants had helped him issue a visit visa for his wife, and provided a room in a villa for the couple to stay.

However, after staying in the villa for a period of time, the victim’s wife expressed her desire to leave the place, as she had repeatedly seen the defendant in the company of different women inside one of the villa’s rooms.

The victim’s decision to move out had made the defendant angry, and drove him to ask the help of his accomplices to seek revenge.

On the day of the kidnapping, the victim was surprised to find the four defendants waiting by his car, and claiming that one of them was an undercover police officer.

The victim was forced to get into their vehicle, taken to the villa and detained in the first defendant’s room.