10 arrested over killing of suspected bootlegger

Police arrest 10 men over the killing of a Pakistani man believed to have been involved in bootlegging alcohol.

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SHARJAH // Police have arrested 10 men over the killing of a Pakistani man believed to have been involved in bootlegging alcohol. Police found the man, identified as Hamioun Mohammed, a 23-year-old Ajman resident, in Sharjah Industrial Area 10 after receiving a call on Saturday. "We had found him laying in his car bleeding," said Brig Yousef Musa al Naqbi, the director of Sharjah CID. "All his windows had been smashed."

Police said they believed he had been selling alcohol in Sharjah, where is it banned, and that he had been killed because of a business deal that had soured. According to police, witnesses reported seeing several men calling Mr Mohammed, and two other men, into an industrial yard. His companions reportedly fled as two taxis dropped off several Indians armed with sticks and knives and a fight began.

The first suspect was arrested at Dubai International Airport, and the others shortly after. Police said they had all confessed. It is at least the second recent death in Sharjah believed to be connected to bootlegging. In January, a Pakistani man was beaten to death and several others seriously injured, in a fight with a rival gang. Police later arrested 18 people in connection with that attack.

ykakande@thenational.ae