Dubai police are seeking at least two Canadians and one Iranian in connection with the fatal shooting last week of a real estate investor in an upscale neighbourhood, media reported on Wednesday.

In a killing linked to organised crime, the Turkish citizen of Iranian origin was shot nine times in his car in the Dubai Marina on May 4, the daily Emarat al-Youm cited police chief Khamis Matar al-Muzaina as saying.

Muzaina said police had identified suspects involved in attack, though some had left the country, according to the newspaper.

One was an Iranian citizen and others were Canadian citizens, he said. The police had provided information about the suspects to the Canadian authorities, he was quoted as saying.

Muzaina declined to comment when reached by phone, referring Reuters to the report in Emarat al-Youm.

The gunmen used silenced pistols, and the crime was only discovered later when a security guard discovered the body in the car, parked in a residential building, Emarat al-Youm cited police sources as saying.

Street crime is rare in Dubai, one of the seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates federation. Walking around the Marina, it is not unusual to see wallets laid on cafe tables and keys left in car ignitions.

Nevertheless, authorities periodically uncover crimes including money laundering, drug smuggling and human trafficking, newspaper report.

The emirate has also seen assassinations of political figures in recent years, including a senior Hamas official and a Chechen rebel leader.