Massage nightmare: Dubai visitor stripped naked, threatened with hot iron

Man visited hotel apartment in Al Barsha, hoping to meet a girl he contacted on WhatsApp

Dubai: A Dubai visitor was stripped naked and threatened with a hot iron after being lured into an apartment on the pretext of a massage session.

The Dubai Court of First Instance heard that in March this year, a 45-year-old Spanish visitor went to a hotel apartment in Al Barsha area, believing he would meet a girl he had come across on social media. As the door opened, a gang of four men and two women from Nigeria attacked him.

“They threatened, stripped me naked before taking my pictures. They threatened to send the pictures to my wife. They then threatened me with a hot iron if I didn’t give them my credit card and money,” said the victim on record.

The gang snatched Dh8,000 in cash from his wallet and forced him to give his credit card and its password to withdraw 1,040 euros.

“They stole the money and left. Then I alerted the police.”

Dubai Police later arrested one Nigerian man and two women aged 40. The Nigerian man claimed that he had found the passport of a man from Uganda, which he had used to book a hotel apartment to dupe people.

He claimed that one of the women contacted the victim on WhatsApp and offered him a massage session and an illegal affair for Dh1,000. The gang members had plugged an iron into the power outlet and threatened to burn the victim’s thigh. The women raised the volume of the television when the men physically assaulted the victim.

Dubai Public Prosecution has charged the three defendants for theft, threatening the victim and locking him up inside an apartment.

The two Nigerian women were additionally charged for prostitution.

The next hearing is scheduled for October 25.