Dubai: Three workers have been jailed for three months each for trying to break into a warehouse to steal Dh2 million worth of baby clothes.
The three Pakistani men, aged 21, 25 and 33, carried iron scissors, went to the warehouse in Ras Al Khor area as they had decided to break into it and steal in August 2016.
The trio had already broken the locks and were about to sneak into the warehouse but freaked out when they heard a car driving past the area and abandoned the bid.
On Tuesday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendants of attempted theft.
According to the primary judgement, the trio will be deported following the completion of their punishment.
A Chinese businesswoman, who had rented the warehouse to store imported baby clothes, discovered that one of the locks had been broken when she visited the warehouse the next morning.
She reported the matter to the police and preliminary investigation revealed the involvement of the trio.
Police identified one of the defendants, whose face was clearly visible on CCTV camera footage at the warehouse.
The trio pleaded not guilty in court.
The businesswoman said that she locked her warehouse at 2.30am and when she returned there the next day at 7pm, she noticed that one of the locks broken.
“I reported the matter to the police … CCTV cameras revealed that the defendants arrived at the warehouse in a pickup truck. The driver remained in the pickup while the other two defendants, wearing masks tried to break into the warehouse,” she testified.
A police sergeant told prosecutors that the trio were apprehended shortly after the 33-year-old suspect was identified through the CCTV footage.
“During questioning, they admitted that they had planned to break into the warehouse and steal clothes. They claimed that once they broke one of the locks, a car drove past and they fled the scene. They also said that they got rid of the iron scissors in Ras Al Khor area.
The ruling remains subject to appeal within 14 days.
