22 Cars Recovered as Two Gangs Busted.

Summary: DUBAI - Two gangs of car smugglers were busted on February 13 with the arrest of seven people and recovery of 22 of the 46 stolen vehicles, all 2009 models, from different areas in the emirate.

The two gangs, one led by a Yemeni and another by a Pakistani, allegedly smuggled out stolen cars to Yemen and Iraq by using forged documents.

In the first case, three Yemenis were arrested. Another Yemeni and an Omani suspect are, however, still at large.

Acting on a tip-off that a Yemeni national was involved in smuggling stolen cars out of the country, Dubai Police raided an apartment in Ajman on February 13 and arrested the man, who was identified as Hassan. Registration papers of 35 cars, cash transfer receipts to the tune of Dh11,833,486 and a power of attorney letter purportedly issued by a Dubai court, were also recovered during the raid.

During interrogation, Hassan admitted to having smuggled stolen vehicles out of the country with the help of four Arabs.

He told the police that another Yemeni, whom he identified as Sherif, arranged buyers for exporting the stolen cars to other countries. After finding buyers, the two Yemenis would produce documents purportedly issued by the transport authorities and the court in order to facilitate the export formalities. Thereafter, their Omani associate, Mohammed, would arrange drivers to drive the vehicles to Yemen via Oman .

Another Yemeni, identified as Saleh, who was arrested at the Global Village, confessed to having coordinated between the gang members in Dubai and car sellers in Yemen .

The fourth Yemeni suspect, identified as Omer, is still at large. He allegedly sold the cars in Yemen and transferred the money to the gang members in Dubai , after taking his share.

In the second case, four persons, including a Pakistani, an Iraqi and two Syrians, were arrested. The Pakistani, who was the ring leader, allegedly possessed two passports in the name of Abdul Qadir Al Bashir and Faraz Abbas Jawid.

According to police, Abdul Qadir purchased 17 cars from a Dubai-based showroom, which arranged for the bank financing. After registering the cars in the name of his company, he handed over four cars to an Iraqi associate, who smuggled the cars to Iraq by using forged documents.

Abdul Qadir rented parking space behind a hotel in the Naif area and parked the vehicles with 'For Sale' signs on them.

On getting information that brand new cars were parked in the Naif area, police swung into action and investigations revealed that the cars were registered in the name of Abdul Qadir.

The police impounded the cars and issued a 'lookout' notice for Abdul Qadeer. He was promptly nabbed at the Dubai International Airport while attempting to flee the country.

Abdul Qadir told the police that the two Syrians had helped him in securing bank clearance papers and fake documents from the transport authorities and the court. The Iraqi was also arrested.

He told the police that he used documents purportedly issued by the transport authorities.

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