Exactly a week after my Kuwait trip I was all set to board a plane again. This time it was to Mumbai. My dad and I left home on a warm Friday morning and cruised through the empty Dubai roads. The check-in was done pretty quickly as we only had hand- baggage and soon enough we found ourselves in the bustling Duty-Free. As we had lots of time in our hands we decided to buy chocolates for a few relatives. Having bought for most we entered a heated discussion on the trype of chocolate my grandfather would prefer. I knew he likes smooth milk chocolates with no “bits” but it was a difficult task finding one. Mirroring our lives even chocolates dont come simple instead come with added albeit sometimes unwanted ingredients.
Finally in one corner of the shop we found a chocolate modelled on a gold bar and hence was made of nothing but pure chocolate. But then what should I buy? Dark or Plain ? Big block or individual pieces? Once decided we turned around only to find my bag and my dad’s briefcase missing. Mine was found a few metres away and must have been the result of my inattentiveness but my dad’s briefcase, which he had rested on his suitcase just to lift the box of chocolate, had vanished! He has travelled extensively and to a wide array of places but has never come across such a situation. He had let his guard down only because of the assumption that Dubai and its airport are safe – an image the country is very careful to maintain as is evident by the absence of a single sign in the whole airport warning and cautioning passengers of thievery.
What followed was a harrowing experience. Shock propelled us to retrace our steps and search frantically but in vain. It had been snatched from that very corner where we last stood engrossed in the fineries of chocolate ingredients. We immediately contacted the security guards who took a a whole minute to digest the situation exposing their ineptitude. We were told to contact the police on one hand and on the other were given the impression that they had informed through their internal phone. Another man approached with a similar complaint , his laptop bag was missing. My dad and I were quite stressed. The bag contained his laptop, passport and all his wallets with his credit cards and labour card! We were stranded and felt like our wings were clipped. Luckily I had my mobile on me but it had to be used sparingly because its I had left the charger in my dad’s bag in a last minute decision while leaving the house. My dad called his secretary and instructed him to inform all the banks of the loss. 15 minutes passed and nothing was done. I decided to go see the police myself who were placed in a very inconvenient end of the airport. Once there I was told that they had received no such notification which means that the last 15 minutes had just been spent waiting fruitlessly! They said they couldnot do much in such situations. On making my views on them quite clear they send to me to the actual police office! Another one?!?!?! I was confused. Anyway, I rushed upstairs hurting my knee in the process which still hurts as I write this. Once there I was told that they had found a black laptop bag and it was with those officials I had just left. Happy and glad I went down only to discover that it was the other man’s laptop and he had misplaced it. It was never stolen! Dang!
Once again I rushed up and explained the situation to the seemingly lethargic members. One of them then, in the presence of me and four other inactive officers, called every shop in the airport to check if anyone was seen with a black bag or had left it there! What a waste of time. I probed, pushed and poked them to check the security cameras to which they obliged. An officer was sent with me and on our way to the camera room I found my dad walking towards us in frustration. Nothing had transpired since I left him. We knew the situation was a gone-case. Tracking the man was a seemingly impossible task but because we knew the exact time and place of the event, if one had acted with speed and checked the cameras, the individual could have been spotted. Anyway, I stood outside the camera room, reservedy for Authorised Personnel only in baited breath. My dad was making a whole lot of phone calls. Five minutes later two officers came out and informed us that they had found something near gate 22. Immediately visions of a police arrest flicked through my mind.How exciting. But it didnt turned out to be so thrilling. They had not started checking their cameras yet but had received a call from the duty free on the first floor that there was an unattended black Condotti bag on the counter. We rushed there to find that it was indeed my dad’s bag but his Toshiba Notebook, Blackberry and $2000 hard cash were missing. The thief had gone about his work in a systematic and professional manner. He had opened every zip and pocket and gone through every wallet, cleaned it and left it in its original place as if untouched! Even an envelope containing some money was left in the bag sans the moolah ofcourse! The condotti bag left as a hand baggage but returned as a piece of lOggage;) (Bad joke?!?! I agree)
My dad’s passport, credit cards , journals and my charger (yipee) were left. He clearly didnt want to carry with him anything that was trackable but his decision to carry the mobile beats me. At that moment we called the number and it rang but the police admitted they were not equipped to track him down using that. My dad called his secretary and he informed the local service provider to shut down its service rendering it a paper weight. Also, were informed that this was a regular occurrence at the airport.We were exhausted emotionally. There were still 20 minutes left for boarding and so we made it just in time.
While in th e bus to the aircraft I intentionally spoke loudly in English to my dad to make others aware of the situation and warn them. It paid off. Many got involved in the discussion and expressed their shock that it had happened in Dubai. Oh well, all’s well that ends well. The next time I go to buy some chocolates at the duty free I will be more careful:)
