Court of Appeal Upholds 7-Year and 6-Month Prison Sentence for Gang in Robbery of Currency Exchange in Al-Maboula

The Second Chamber of the Court of Appeal, presided over by Advisor Nasr Salem Al Haid and with the membership of Advisors Mutaab Al Aaradi and Saud Al Sanaa, upheld the ruling sentencing members of a Nigerian gang to seven years in prison, and a fifth defendant to six months, in the case of the robbery of a currency exchange office in the Mahbula area.

The Public Prosecution had charged defendants one through four with stealing money from the currency exchange office, after the second defendant used a fake gun to threaten the staff, while the third and fourth defendants managed to seize the funds with the assistance of the first defendant. The prosecution also charged the fifth defendant with conspiring with the other defendants to commit the crime, assisting them in hiding the stolen goods, and providing them with the proceeds from the robbery and theft.

The Criminal Court had previously sentenced defendants one and five in absentia, and the remaining defendants in absentia, imposing a seven-year prison term on defendants one through four, and a six-month term on the fifth defendant, following an amendment to the description and charge of the offense. This ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeal.

The details of the case trace back to the ability of the Al-Ahmadi Governorate Criminal Investigation Department, within 24 hours of the crime, to apprehend a Nigerian gang that had carried out an armed robbery at a currency exchange office in the Mahbula area, stealing foreign currency valued at approximately 4,600 Kuwaiti dinars.