Man returns 15kg gold worth Dh2.5 million he found in parking lot

A Pakistani cleaner in Dubai - Taher Ali Maqbool, 27 - has been honoured for handing over a bag containing 15kg of gold bars worth around Dh2.5 million to the Dubai Road Transport Authority (RTA).

The solid bars of gold packed in a black bag were found in a parking lot in Al Sabkha.

He was honoured by Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors of RTA, which operates the parking facility where the bag of gold was found.

Taher said: “I wasn’t sure at first if it was really gold but I said to myself, ‘leave it, even if it is so much gold. No matter how much it is worth, it is not worth more than one dirham of honest income'.” 

The thought of keeping the solid gold bars never crossed his mind since his father always taught him about honest virtues, Taher told Gulf News.

“My father would say make sure your income is from honest sources and Allah will honour you and give you something better than what you would have earned from dishonest sources,” Taher said.

“I’m very grateful to the RTA for the honour they bestowed on me. I’ve shared the news with my family back home and everyone is congratulating me.

“When I told my father what happened, he said I did the right thing and he was so proud of me. It’s such a great feeling,” he further added.

Taher, who is from Chakri village in Pakistan’s Punjab province, said he was working the night shift when he found the bag in a corner on the first floor of the parking facility earlier this month, where he has been working as a cleaner for around a month. 

He later called security about the discovery, who told him to bring the bag over to them.

“The bag was really heavy. We opened it and found a tool box inside. We thought maybe a technician left his tool box behind and he will be back tomorrow to collect it.

“The next day, another security person on duty opened the tool box and we saw the gold bars inside, confirming the contents,” said one of the security staff.

The huge find has still not been traced back to the owner, neither has anyone claimed it.

Over the years, a number of workers have been honoured for handing in huge finds of gold, cash or jewellery.

In 2016, a Bangladeshi cabbie for the Dubai Taxi Corporation under the RTA returned 25kg of gold, worth over Dh3.5 million, to a passenger who had left it behind in his taxi. The driver was also honoured by the RTA.