Dubai: Four men have been accused of breaking into a mobile phone shop and stealing a safe that contained Dh70,000 in cash, 50 mobile phones and important documents.

The Pakistani quartet, N.B., H.B. R.A. and H.A., were said to have used a screwdriver to break the locks and steal the safe that contained cash and Dh25,000 worth of mobile phones and two passports that belonged to shop staff in April.

Prosecutors accused N.B., H.B. and R.A. of theft while H.A. was charged with possessing four of the stolen mobile phones.

N.B. pleaded guilty and admitted that he committed the theft when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Monday.

The other three suspects pleaded not guilty and denied any involvement in the heist when they defended themselves before presiding judge Ezzat Mansour. A Bangladeshi employee claimed to prosecutors that he discovered the shop’s damaged door when he went to open up at 9am.

“I called the police immediately and then I informed my colleague and manager as well. When I entered the shop, I discovered that the safe had gone. It was a small safe that weighed 7kg … we had placed inside it Dh70,000 [the revenues] and 50 mobile phones. It also contained my passport and that of my colleague,” the employee testified.

A police corporal claimed to prosecutors that the robbery happened in Naif area while the shop was closed.

“On-site investigations revealed that the burglars had left behind the screwdriver which they had used to destroy the locks. Further interrogations revealed the involvement of the four suspects in the robbery. We apprehended N.B., H.B. and R.A. Dubai Police’s criminal records showed that those who were detained had been deported earlier for involvement in thefts that were carried out using the same modus operandi. They had infiltrated the UAE again. During questioning, they confessed that they carried out the heist at 4am … they claimed that they divided the stolen phones among them and sold some to H.A. The latter was arrested for selling the stolen items as well,” testified the corporal.

A ruling will be heard on October 29.