Dubai Police has auctioned off $1m (AED3.86m) worth of unclaimed goods, its Lost and Found Department revealed, adding the revenue will go to the state treasury.
The items sold in November last year include a $16,335 (AED60,000) Vertu phone, a jet ski, a kayak and an electric generator. Overall, there were 14,600 mobile phones, 11,000 watches, 1,679 tablets, 1,217 cameras and 639 laptops sold.
The goods are kept at Dubai Police stations for a month to allow owners to claim them. Following the period’s passing, they are sent to the lost and found sector at the authority’s headquarters, according to Lt Colonel Rashid Bin Safwan, deputy director at the department.
The division ensures the items were not reported lost, and are not part of any criminal cases, Safwan said. If the owner is identified, the object is sent by mail after identity verification.
Most of the objects are handed over by hotels, shopping malls and members of the public.
Other lost items found by Dubai Police include marriage certificates and a 60-inch TV in original packing.
According to Law No.5 in the UAE, anyone who finds a lost item, including money, is obliged to hand it over to police within 48 hours. Failure to do so will result in criminal liability.
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