Gang arrested for duping 'for sale' advertisers

A gang of three thieves, including two women - who tracked for sale ads on online classifies and duped residents - has been busted by the Sharjah Police.

 After receiving complaints of being conned  by the trio- a husband, wife and an accomplice , which hailed from Pakistan,  the  Khaleej Times investigation team laid a trap for team in which, they stole a mobile phone that the team advertised on a classifieds website totrack the gang.  

 A Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer reportedly said the police managed to recover gold worth Dh300,000 that was reported stolen by a Pakistani woman.

 The victim told the police she put up an advertisement in a classifieds website to sublet one of her apartment's rooms. She received a call from the male suspect, who spoke in Urdu, and asked to rent the room. The three suspects went to the flat and submitted a cheque for renting the room. When the victim went out to cash the cheque, the suspects stole jewellery from the flat and fled.

 After finding the jewellery gone, the victim immediately called the police. A police team collected forensic evidence from the site, and managed to the arrest the suspects.

 During interrogation, the suspects reportedly confessed that they targeted residents looking to sell electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets and iPads online, and those advertising to sublet their apartments.

 One of the suspects would call the victim, offering to buy the advertised item. The suspect would tell the victim to meet a woman to collect the cash. When the victim approached the woman, she would say she needed to inspect the item - only to vanish.

 Colonel Ibrahim Al Ajil, Director of the CID, urged residents to be cautious when dealing with people responding to their ads.