DUBAI // Three members of a gang that broke into a villa in Jumeirah and stole Dh1.5 million worth of jewellery have been locked up for three years.
The Dubai Criminal Court was told that in July last year American R J, Mexican D P and Colombians M A and M O, all aged 32, broke into the empty villa and stole diamonds and other valuables.
They were all charged with burglary, trespassing and damaging property while M A was also charged with aiding and abetting.
M O was also charged with damaging a police patrol car and endangering the life of a police captain by trying to run him over.
The villa’s owner, 36-year-old Indian T A, told prosecutors that he left the country on July 1 for a week-long trip home. When he returned he discovered that his villa had been raided.
“The kitchen window was smashed, all things inside were a mess and the bedroom was upside down,” he said. “I checked the safe and found it had been forced open and all the valuable items inside it stolen,” added T A, who called police.
Two days later officers asked him to come to the station to identify his stolen jewellery.
Police captain A A, 33, testified that the men were tracked down via the rental car they used to drive to the villa.
“We found them living in a flat in Sharjah. During the raid, two were at the flat while the third came in the middle.
“The fourth member was arrested the next day, on July 9, as he tried to exit the country,” said A A.
R J, D P, M A and M O denied all of the charges.
M A was acquitted while the other three were found guilty. They will be deported after serving their prison terms.
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(via The National)
