Makkah police have arrested a gang of swindlers for tricking a Saudi businessman into paying them SR500,000 in a fake property deal.
“The police arrested five Pakistanis and two Burmese nationals for taking SR500,000 from a businessman after misleading him that a property they offered to sell him was their own. Records at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry showed that the property belonged to someone else,” said Makkah police spokesman Maj. Abdul Mohsen Al-Maiman.
Police detectives swung into action when the Makkah-based businessman complained about the criminals and the business proposal that involved the sale of a hotel in Makkah for SR2.5 million, half the market rate.
The Saudi businessman had earlier gone to a posh villa in Al-Sharae neighborhood in Makkah to discuss the details of the bogus deal. One of the cheats posed as the rich owner of the hotel and arrived at the villa accompanied by a valet who carried his bag and files.
After discussions between the businessman and the fake owner, they agreed on a reduced price of SR2.5 million, with an advance of SR500,000. Satisfied with the terms of the deal, he paid the advance and promised to meet them when the transfer documents would be ready.
But the businessman was in for a shock when he learned from official sources later that the property did not belong to the supposed seller. He immediately complained to the police and traps were set for the swindlers.
The police formed a special team of detectives who collected a copy of the iqama of the man who hired the villa where the deal was made. With the help of the photo on the iqama, the detectives tracked down one of the swindlers outside Makkah and arrested him and two of his companions. During interrogation, the police team learned more about their accomplices who were arrested later. The suspects have been linked to other crimes.
Cheats swindle man out of half a million
