Dubai: A fraudster walked into a police trap after an undercover officer put up an online advertisement for the sale of a luxury car. Several people had been duped of their cars by the conman who would hand them cheques that later bounced, an official said on Wednesday.

Brigadier Abdul Raheem Bin Shafee, director of Al Barsha Police Station, said the Gulf national was arrested after several complaints about people being duped while trying to sell their cars. Police recovered Dh2 million from the possession of the arrested man.

“A victim alerted Al Barsha police about the suspect,” Brigadier Bin Shafee said. “He posted an advertisement online seeking buyers for his car when he received a call from the suspect. After transferring the ownership of the car, the suspect gave him a cheque that later bounced,” the official said.

The incident happened on a Thursday and when the victim went to the bank to encash the cheque the next week he was informed that the buyer did not have sufficient balance in his account.

 In one of the incidents, the suspect rented a luxury car with a driver and used a fake name to con the victim that he is a rich person so the victim would accept the cheque from him.”

 - Brig Abdul Raheem Bin Shafee | Director, Al Barsha Police Station 


“In such incidents, the fraudsters sell the car immediately at a price lower than the value of the car before vanishing.”

More such complaints were received from other people who were conned by the same individual.

“In one of the incidents, the suspect rented a luxury car with a driver and used a fake name to con the victim that he is a rich person so the victim would accept the cheque from him,” he added.

Police set a trap for the suspect by placing an online advertisement for the sale of a luxury car and the suspect got in touch with the undercover policeman taking him to be serious seller.

“We arrested him in a car registration centre and referred him to the public prosecution to finish the investigation,” Brigadier Bin Shafee added.

He urged people to stay vigilant and not to transfer their vehicle ownership until such time that they were able to collect their money.

Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri, Commander-In-Chief of Dubai Police, praised the efforts of the officers at Al Barsha police station for nabbing the fraudster.