Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced two African women to three years in jail to be followed by deportation and fined them Dhs6,000 for luring an Asian to a fake massage centre in collaboration with a man who is still at large, locking him up and stealing his money.

The defendants threatened the victim of calling the police and telling them that he had stormed their residence and attempted to rape them.

The incident took place in Dubai Silicon Oasis area where a security guard reported to the police that two women locked a person up inside an apartment.

According to his statement, he saw one of the defendants walking barefoot out of the building and returning shortly after. So, he followed her until she entered the apartment and rang the bell, he said, adding that as soon as she opened the door, he heard the voice of someone calling for help.

The security guard stated in the interrogations that he reported what happened to the police and prevented the defendants from getting out of the apartment.

One of the defendants, however, managed to escape before the police arrived and arrested the other defendant, he said, adding that the police took both the defendant and the victim to the police station.

The victim stated that he saw an ad on a chatting website promoting massage by a blonde European girl.

He contacted the number given in the ad and agreed on a time and place to get the service, he said, adding that as soon as he arrived at the specified place, he was surprised by the two defendants forcing him to enter the apartment, locking him up and stealing Dhs5,000 from his wallet.

One of the defendants stole his ATM card and asked him to give her the PIN after threatening him of calling the police and alleging he had stormed the apartment and attempted to rape them.

The defendant withdrew Dhs1,000 from his account, he said.

According to the official documents, one of the defendants admitted that she and the other defendant were working for a fellow man, who rented an apartment to lure those seeking a massage service via social media ads and rob them of their money.