Driver 'threatened to bomb Dubai skyscrapers'

A man confessed in court yesterday to calling two police officers at Dubai International Airport and threatening to bomb some of Dubai's landmarks.

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DUBAI // A man confessed in court yesterday to calling two police officers at Dubai International Airport and threatening to bomb some of Dubai's landmarks.

HA, a driver, told the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance that he did not realise he was talking to police officers when he made the call.

He said he needed the money because he was caught in a bad financial situation. He also told the court that he mentioned brands of explosives in his threats that he had heard in Indian films.

Officers MA and AA told prosecutors that about 9am on August 22, 2010, they received a phone call from the suspect while on duty at the airport. MA said the suspect threatened to kill him and destroy landmarks in Dubai if he did not give him Dh1 million and help three friends escape detention. MA said he asked the suspect which landmarks he was targeting, and the suspect said trade centres and skyscrapers, records show.

HA allegedly told the police officers that his friends, all Bangladeshis, were being held in Sharjah for killing an Emirati man.

The officers told prosecutors they tried to persuade him to tell them specifically what he was planning to blow up, but he would not.

Dubai and Sharjah police traced the suspect's phone number, and he was located and arrested.

The next hearing has been scheduled for January 30.