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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Cross-dressers on the prowl at malls |
| 2010-12-19 |
| [Emirates 24/7] Security at crowded malls and supermarkets during peak business hours have always been a cause of major concern to authorities. Surveillance cameras and other hi-tech gadgets make no difference to determined thiefs on the prowl. And now adding to their woes are cross-dressers. Imagine men dressed in burkhas robbing you off your valuables! Security officers are on their feet now, says a source at a hypermarket. Due to cultural sensitivity, even if victims raise an alarm, the suspects cannot be bodily searched, says another security personnel of a supermarket chain in Dubai. Emirates 24|7 spoke to security officers at various malls. All of them confirm there has been an increase in the number of thefts as well as customer complaints. Men dressed in abayas, with their face covered, cannot be identified even if they move around suspiciously. Gold chains, mobile phones and wallets are their preferred items, say security officers. A security supervisor at a supermarket in Sharjah says such thefts happen mostly during peak business hours when the place is crowded. "Shop-lifters can be easily caught via electronic theft detectors, but what do you do with cross-dressers who steal customers mobile phones and wallets. Ignorant people are busy shopping and would not suspect 'Arabic' women rubbing shoulders with them." This has led to many shopping centres recruiting women security officers, he says. An officer at a supermarket in Sharjah says such people operate in gangs. Usually it's a network of atleast four. Unfortunately, many such cases go unreported, as people think they misplaced their personal belongings in a crowded mall. According to a Lulu supermarket employee, their management has received several complaints from customers about pick-pockets and chain-snatchers inside the premises of late. "Our security officers closely monitor security cameras and, in fact, have spotted women in abayas moving about suspiciously. They show the clipping to customers who have been victims of theft, but unfortunately, none of them have so far identified any thief because only their eyes are visible." Interestingly, there have been cases when empty wallets are discovered from the premises and in trolleys. Security officers say the number of incidents are increasing because people hesitate from going to the police. Only if a case is filed with a cop shoppe can any action be taken, says a policeman. Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... a police front man said although no women have been been jugged in connection with armed robberies in the emirate, a number of men have been caught dressed in abayas and robbing residents. In one incident in Abu Shagara in March, a Pak man, who had covered his face, was easily identified by police on his way from the flat he had robbed: he was wearing men's sandals with an abaya. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 What are these dressers cross about? The should just relax and enjoy the Mall and the Yule Tide Season. |
| Posted by: Secret Asian Man 2010-12-19 23:05 |
| #4 I can't understand how gorb managed to get a still image from one of them. It was on WikiLeaks. |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-12-19 13:13 |
| #3 I can imagine that Rosie O'Donnell's manicurist would have nightmares, but I can't understand how gorb managed to get a still image from one of them. manicurist: "You're soaking in it." Rosie: "RAWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" |
| Posted by: ryuge 2010-12-19 10:04 |
| #2 Gee, I sort of assumed that this was an American article about LGBTs cutting up rough here. I imagined a lot of cops in red State America. "I'll tase it, but I sure as hell won't touch it! Prolly has some disease or something." |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-12-19 09:03 |
| #1 Hint: |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-12-19 00:21 |