DUBAI: If losing goods worth millions of dirhams to an audacious trading scam were not bad enough, four of the victims have themselves been taken into police custody in Dubai.
The UAE-based Indian businessmen, including one who is due to get married next week, were arrested on Tuesday afternoon for allegedly trespassing into an Al Jaddaf warehouse where their goods are believed to have been stored.
Fearing that the stolen items would be shipped out of the country or moved elsewhere, scores of traders have been taking turns to watch over the place since early October. But yesterday some of them finally ran out of patience. Following a complaint by the warehouse owner the men were promptly arrested and are currently in Bur Dubai police station.
Outrage
The move has sparked outrage among traders who were already reeling under shock since a company called Explore Marine Far East bought a diverse range of goods from them against post dated cheques and disappeared before the cheques could be presented in banks. All cheques eventually turned out to be duds. “It’s ironical and sad that the victims have been arrested while the people responsible for the scam are still at large,” said A.M, a businessman.
Last month some victims tracked down several stolen items to a warehouse in Dubai Maritime City (DMC) and another in Al Jaddaf. After days of drama and suspense, the DMC warehouse was sealed by a court order. Both warehouses reportedly belong to a shipping firm which claims to have bought the goods from a third party – an explanation that doesn’t seem to cut much ice with the 50 odd victims.
In the welter of all this, another firm, Trade Key General Trading downed shutters of its Deira office last weekend and fled, leaving yet another trail of dud cheques and wrecked lives.
Since the beginning of this year, the UAE has been hit by trading scams at least two dozen times.
“There is panic in the market and people have stopped giving goods on credit. The whole dynamics of business has changed. If this goes on unchecked, many of us would be forced out of business,” said R.P, who lost Dh300,000 to a similar scam earlier this year.
Another trader said the recurring scams could have disastrous ripple effects. “Small companies won’t be able to withstand the losses and shut down. This will impact banks too as many have taken loans,” he said.
