“Four men aged between 18 and 28 were arrested. Two of the arrested are Egyptian while one is Yemeni and one Saudi,” said Jeddah police spokesman Brig. Misfer Al-Juaid.

The victims, two Egyptian shop owners, contacted the police on Monday to report a violent robbery by four men.

They told investigators that three of the men posed as perfume wholesalers who were interested in purchasing some of the goods on display in the shops. “When they went to the sellers’ warehouse, they attacked their victims and stole SR8,000 in cash along with SR5,000 worth of goods,” said Al-Juaid.

He said police investigators were able to arrest quickly two of the suspects, who led investigators to the other pair.

“The suspects claimed that there were no criminal intentions on their part and that the whole thing was a business deal gone bad. However, what gave them away was the fact that one of the suspects was impersonating a municipality official inspecting illegal street vendors,” said Al-Juaid.