Dubai Police officer loses appeal over three-year jail term

The first lieutenant was convicted of theft and posing as a CID officer

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An Emirati police officer sacked from the force after orchestrating a fake arrest to cheat a trader out of hundreds of thousands of dirhams lost an appeal against a three-year jail term.

The first lieutenant at Dubai Police, 41, directed two Cameroonian men to offer the currency buyer $150,000 (Dh550,000) in return for Dh272,000.

On April 8 of this year, the victim met with the pair in Al Bahara to complete the transaction, only for the officer to arrive in a police car along with two other men, a 42-year-old Palestinian and a man holding a Comoros Island passport, 43.

The trio posed as CID officers and pretended to take the Pakistani victim and the two Cameroonian defendants into custody on suspicion of an illegal currency sale, and took the cash for evidence.

Once they had the money in their possession, the offenders fled the scene, leaving the duped Pakistani empty-handed.

Court records stated that the Cameroon men were paid Dh15,000 each for their role in the crime, with the Palestinian man pocketing Dh72,000 and the Comoros Islands national picking up Dh60,800.

The police officer kept the remaining money.

The victim reported the matter to police, who arrested the perpetrators after an investigation.

“He is not a CID officer and works at the correctional establishments. His duties do not include making arrests,” said an Emirati policeman during the previous hearing at Dubai Criminal Court.

In September last year, the five men were convicted of theft charges – with three of them found guilty of posing as CID officers – and sentenced to three years in prison each to be followed by deportation for the expatriates.

The officer challenged the verdict, but his sentence was upheld at Dubai Court of Appeal on Sunday.