Dubai police sergeant on trial for stealing and selling 67 cars after 'forging warrants to impound them'
- - 'HS' is accused of hacking into traffic system to issue fake seizure warrants
- - He then 'took warrants to technician who forged keys to steal cars'
- - HS, who denies charges, then 'sold cars to co-defendants and kept cash'
- - Cars included Lexus, Nissan Sunny, Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Ranger
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A Dubai police sergeant forged 67 bogus warrants claiming cars had been stolen before jacking them himself and selling them on, a court has heard.
The officer, known only as HS, is accused of hacking into the force's traffic system to make wanted-car warrants which he took to a technician who made replacement keys for the vehicles.
He then used the phoney keys to unlock, steal and sell the cars on the black market and pocketed £62,000.
However, when asked in court if he was behind the ruse, he replied: 'Not at all! I am not guilty. I did not steal anything. I am not guilty… I didn’t do that.'
Stolen: The officer is accused of hacking into the city's security system to make wanted-car orders for abandoned cars before taking them to a technician who would make replacement keys for the vehicles, including a Ford Ranger (pictured)
Money spinner: He then used the forged keys to unlock, steal and sell the cars on the black market and pocketed the money, it is claimed. Other car brands included Lexus, left, and Mitsubishi Lancer, right
He appeared in the Dubai Court of First Instance alongside eight alleged accomplices.
Despite his denial, court papers cite H. S. as admitting two of his co-defendants gave him the idea after a shady deal with a Russian businessman went awry leaving him with large debts and no car, the Gulf News reported.
He is quoted as saying: 'I was covered with debts and loans because I had earlier entered a business partnership with a Russian man, who took the money and absconded from the UAE.
'I did not have a car and my coworkers were dropping me to work at the police station.
Denial: The unnamed officer appeared in the Dubai Court of First Instance alongside eight alleged accomplices
'It was then when we first discussed the idea. S.K. and H.I. spotted a number of impounded cars and [...] they suggested to me to look for abandoned cars in streets, then steal those cars and they would help me sell the stolen vehicles and share the revenue.
'I stole nearly 70 cars and handed them to S.K. and H.I. to sell them… I used the money to cover more than Dh360,000 in debts.'
But he is said to have suffered sleepless nights, racked with guilt over the conflict between his duty as a police officer and his lucrative new source of income.
The Syrian technician, who replicated the keys, claimed that he was not aware that the suspects forged the wanted-car warrants to steal the vehicles.
He said the cars included brands such as Lexus, Nissan Sunny, Chevrolet Tahoe, Toyota Pickup, Nissan Infinity, Chevrolet Optra, Mitsubishi Lancer, Ford Ranger and others.
The trial continues.
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