Gang steals Range Rover in Dubai, police tracks the car through GPS

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced a gang of 5 persons, including a fugitive, to one year in prison each to be followed by deportation for attempting to steal a luxury vehicle "Range Rover" worth Dhs685,000, after renting it for two days.

The convicts reportedly forged the vehicle’s documents with the aim of passing it to a Gulf country, but their attempt was foiled through the GPS device installed in the car and they were arrested.

The case dates back to last January, when an employee works for car rental shop reported the police about delay of returning a Range Rover vehicle, model 2020, which was rented by a GCC national for Dhs3,000 for two days. The employee stated that he contacted a tracking company to locate the vehicle, which was found in a neighbouring emirate.

The vehicle was on a truck on the way to its export. The truck was stopped by the police and the truck driver was arrested, who confirmed that a GCC national contacted him from outside the country and hired him to transport the vehicle for Dhs2,500.

He also shared the vehicle’s location and sent to him its key and papers to the driver, the truck driver told the police.

A police cop testified that the fugitive convict had rented the vehicle before he left the country, and then communicated with the rest of the convicts to forge export documents for the vehicle.

They intended to ship the vehicle after removing the GPS device that is installed in it, the officer added.  

Through the investigations, the convicts were identified and arrested. They confessed to conniving with a GCC national (fugitive) in renting the vehicle and forging its documents to be able to export it after removing the tracking device, but another tracking device exposed them.

The Criminal Court convicted them and sentenced them to imprisonment to be followed by deportation.