Witnessed: Devil in the Ditch - Fleeing the City of Gold: Dubai's Missing Princesses

Episode Date: March 30, 2023

On the podcast Infamous, two daughters of Sheikh Mohammed — the wealthy,  seemingly-progressive ruler of Dubai — allegedly run away. When one of  those daughters, Sheikha Latifa, releases a shocking video online, dark  secrets from within a deeply private family begin to emerge. Listen to  this and many more scandalous stories on Infamous. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi, I'm Natalie Robemett and I'm here to tell you about a new podcast. Infamous brings you stories about scandals, falls from grace, powerful people behaving badly. Our latest story on Infamous takes place in Dubai, where I'm from. While I was growing up there, it went from being a bit of a backwater to a glittering tourist attraction on the Persian Gulf. That's thanks to a lot of oil money, and Dubai's savvy and charismatic ruler, Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid al-Makhtoum. But look past the glitz, and you'll notice that a lot of women in Dubai wear a set of golden handcuffs, including sheikh mose owned daughters. Here's what happened when one of his daughters Latifa made a daring escape with the help of her Capoeira instructor Tina and an ex-spy

named Irvey Jober. My co-host Vanessa Gregioides, tells us about it in this clip from Infamous. Litief has strode to the bathroom. She took off her black abaya, applied makeup, and put on sunglasses. As they departed, Litief left her cell phone behind. She and Tina headed to Muscat, the coastal capital of Oman. It's about a four and a half hour drive. On the way, they took some selfies. Then, they pulled into the beach. There was a dinghy there that had been waiting for them, and they climbed in. Tina's friend and a personal trainer, he drove the dinghy. They went out about 15 miles into the turquoise sea.

Jovair was there. He was waiting with a pair of jet skis. The sea was really rough at that time, so it's definitely a journey. I'm not going to forget ever, you know, being in the middle of the sea. The sun was starting to go down. Several miles later, they reached Ayat that Jobar was piloting. It was named the Nostromo. Lativa climbed on board. She was determined to make it out this time.

She was not going to be like Shamsa. She was going to get to safety. And her plan? she was going to the Grand City on a hill, the place of freedom, the place where Natalie and I both live, the United States. So they set out across the Arabian Sea. They watched movies, sent messages to friends, They watched movies, sent messages to friends. But were those messages secure? At this point, Latifa and Tina were off the coast of Goa. That's a resort town in India that's very popular with young people, full of dance clubs.

This whole life that Latifa wanted was almost there to touch. But for now, Tina and Latifa were still below deck in their room. Then they heard a noise. We heard what sounded like gunshots from the upper deck. The cabin began filling with smoke, and they could barely see anything. They struggled up the stairs to the deck. They were staggering from coughing so hard. Finally, Seoul was there. Indian commando's, dressed in black gear, honestly. At multiple laser sight, it's pointing at me. It was unreal.

I sort of switched off. It's almost like I wasn't there anymore. It was beyond understanding what was happening. We were so close to India and all of a sudden that the boat is filled with these very aggressive men who are threatening to shoot my brain out. They are obviously looking for Latifa. These men were from the Indian Special Forces. One of them boarded the boat, tied Tina's hands behind her back,

and dragged her to the deck. The men kept shouting, asking who the Tifa was, and the Tifa just kept repeating, over and over. I am seeking political asylum. I am seeking political asylum. But the men just dragged her away, kicking and screaming. Listen to Infamous, wherever you get your podcasts.