American quartet break into a Dubai villa, steal Dh1.5m worth of gold, jewellery

Dubai: A gang of four men has been accused of jumping over a villa’s wall and breaking into the house from where they stole valuables worth Dh1.5 million.

The quartet were said to have driven their rented Range Rover to Jumeirah, broken into the villa, broken a safe and stolen valuables that belonged to an Indian manager, who was on vacation abroad, in July.

Prosecutors accused the defendants -- R.J., an American; M.O., a Mexican; and D.A. and M.A., Colombians -- with breaking the villa’s door and safe and stealing gold and jewellery.

They were also charged with trespassing into the villa. M.O. was solely accused of forging a Spanish passport, with which he tried to leave the UAE. He was additionally accused of wrecking a police car and endangering a police officer’s life who tried to arrest him.

Jail wardens did not bring the suspects from their detention and produce them before the Dubai Court of First Instance where they were scheduled to enter their pleas on Monday.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the defendants formed a gang and broke into the villa after they watched it for a while and ensured that the Indian manager was away.

The Indian claimed to prosecutors that he discovered that his villa had been broken into and burgled once he returned from his summer vacation.

“When I reached my villa in Jumeirah, I discovered that the entrance and the kitchen doors were broken. I went up instantly to check the safe in my bedroom, and found that the thieves had broken the safe and stolen my wife’s jewellery and other valuables. The drawers were also left open and obviously the thieves had looked inside them for valuables. I called the police and a patrol was dispatched to my residence. After they examined my house, I escorted them to the nearest police station to lodge an official complaint. Two days later I was summoned to the station … there I was shown a quantity of stolen jewellery, some of which belonged to me and my wife. Police said they recovered the stolen valuables from the defendants’ flat in Sharjah,” he testified.

A police captain claimed to prosecutors that primary interrogations revealed that the suspects had rented a Range Rover using cash.

“We rushed to the car rental agency where we discovered that the car had been rented with an Argentinian passport … the passport bore the name of a person who had not entered the UAE. Another car had also been rented by R.J. We issued an immediate circular about the two cars … later an informant alerted us that one of the cars was spotted in Al Nahda. R.A. and D.A. were apprehended first while M.O. tried to drive off with the Range Rover … police patrols prevented him and restrained him immediately. He intentionally rammed a police car. M.A. was arrested when he tried to leave through Al Hili border using a forged passport,” claimed the captain.

Presiding judge Ezzat Mansour adjourned the case until the quartet are brought from their detention on October 22.