A businessman in Dubai’s shipping trade had no idea he had lost AED 100,000 until police called him to collect it, capping a case that ran from a careless slip in a parking lot to a full recovery in roughly three hours.
The money had been part of a larger sum. The owner, who runs a private shipping company, withdrew AED 200,000 from a bank and tucked it into a paper envelope. In his rush to his car, he left the envelope open, and a bundle holding half the cash slipped out unnoticed. He drove off none the wiser.
Mohammed Ali Sherakal Mohi, an Indian national, walked into the same parking lot soon after and came upon the cash lying in the open. Rather than pocket it, he took photographs of the money and the spot where it lay before driving to Al Raffa Police Station to turn it in, pointing officers to the precise location of the find.
Investigators at the station traced the cash to its owner and reached him within three hours. He arrived bewildered, having only then realised the money was gone, and was handed back the full amount.
Colonel Ahmed Obaid bin Hudaiba, Director of Al Raffa Police Station, recognised Mohi at a ceremony attended by his deputy, Colonel Saleh Hassan Al Marzouqi, and Captain Ali Haji Al Balushi, who heads the station’s Customer Happiness Section.
According to bin Hudaiba, Dubai Police makes a point of recognising residents who hand lost property to authorities so it can be reunited with its owners, behaviour he said mirrors the wider sense of safety in UAE society. He commended Mohi directly for the choice to surrender the cash for return.
The shipping company owner, for his part, thanked the force and the man who found his money, and spoke of the security he feels living in the emirate.
