Dubai: Two men have been accused of smashing a window of a minibus owned by a company that retails mobile phones and stealing Dh190,000 worth of Samsung and iPhone smartphones.
The Pakistani duo, O.B. and I.Z., were said to have parked their vehicle in the parking lot where the minibus was parked and stolen 176 smartphones in September.
Prosecutors charged the suspects with stealing in a public place.
The suspects pleaded guilty and admitted that they stole the phones from the minibus when they appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.
According to the charges sheet, prosecutors said O.B. used his vehicle to pick up I.Z. late at night and then they made a stop near the minibus, smashed a window of the vehicle and made off with a box that contained the smartphones.
“The value of the stolen phones was Dh34,000 and not Dh190,000. Actually we stole 29 phones and not that quantity mentioned in the accusation sheet,” I.Z. told presiding judge Ali Abdul Wahhab while arguing his case.
A policeman told prosecutors that the heist was resported in Freij Al Murar.
“Primary interrogations revealed that the duo had been involved in the robbery. O.B. was apprehended first in Al Mutaina behind a supermarket. During questioning, he admitted that he had carried out two heists in collaboration with I.Z. He claimed that I.Z. came up to him and told him he needed a car to transport some stolen mobiles … he alleged he agreed to use his car to drive I.Z. to the parking where the minibus had been parked. He claimed that they used a screwdriver to break the window and take away a box that contained the stolen smart phones. Then he claimed that he drove I.Z. to his residence and that the latter paid him money, took the box and left. Police raided I.Z.’s residence and found the box of stolen phones. I.Z. admitted that he had stolen the phones two weeks prior to his arrest,” the policeman testified.
Presiding judge Abdul Wahhab said the court will appoint two lawyers to defend the suspects on June 6.
