Dubai Police dismantle eight-member gang behind AED12m oud heist

A gang of eight posed as royalty to steal AED12 million in luxury oud from a Dubai merchant. Four suspects were arrested within 12 hours; Red Notices issued for the rest.

Fake princess, real theft: how an AED12m oud scam unravelled in Dubai

Dubai Police have identified and broken up an eight-member criminal gang that stole luxury oud worth AED12 million from a merchant using an elaborate impersonation scheme, gdnonline.com reports. Four suspects were arrested and the stolen goods recovered within 12 hours of the crime being reported; Red Notices have been issued for the four remaining members, including a woman who posed as a princess during the operation.

The scheme began when two gang members entered a luxury oud boutique in a local market and told the shop owner that a prominent princess was travelling to Dubai and intended to purchase a large quantity of premium oud for a substantial sum. The merchant, persuaded by the story, assembled his finest inventory and arranged a meeting with the alleged princess.

To make the deception convincing, the gang rented a modern villa and staged a full VIP reception — hiring security personnel, organising a high-end welcome and preparing an elaborate dinner. When the merchant arrived, he presented the oud in his own bags. The gang then requested the goods be transferred into bags more fitting for the princess's status, and the merchant complied.

After the impersonator met briefly with the trader and indicated she wished to proceed with the purchase, gang members asked him to wait while the oud was moved back into his bags. During that interval, they substituted the luxury oud with ordinary wood and returned the bags to him. The following day, the merchant tried to reach them by phone; the lines were dead. Opening the bags, he found the oud had been replaced.

After the merchant filed a report through the Command and Control Centre, the General Department of Criminal Investigation assembled a specialised task force and moved to the villa. Investigators deployed analytical software, the latest tracking technologies and surveillance camera footage to identify those involved.

Within 12 hours, the task force arrested four suspects and seized the stolen oud inside an apartment before the gang could dispose of it. Dubai Police determined that the remaining four — including the woman who had played the princess — had left the country immediately after the theft, and Red Notices were issued accordingly.

Source: Google News AE