Dubai: Four jobless men have been jailed for one year each for breaking in to a company at Al Rifaa and stealing 286 laptops worth Dh457,000 in a bid to sell each device for Dh1,000.
The quartet, a 27-year-old Pakistani, J.K., and three Afghans, 23-year-old J.Z., 25-year-old M.K. and 20-year-old S.B., broke the company’s locks with a screwdriver then stole the laptops and transported them in a pickup truck in May 2014.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the four of forceful entry and stealing laptops.
A 36-year-old Pakistani suspect, M.A., was cleared of possessing the stolen laptops.
According to Thursday’s ruling, presiding judge Ezzat Abdul Lat fined a 24-year-old Pakistani, A.A., Dh3,000 for possessing the stolen items.
Despite having entered a not guilty plea, J.K., J.Z., M.K. and S.B. will be deported after serving their jail terms.
“We did not commit this crime,” J.Z. told the court.
A police corporal testified the company owner reported to police that a number of thieves broke into his workplace and stole the laptops.
“The claimant said his staff discovered the destroyed locks and that a large quantity of laptops had been stolen from the company’s premises in Al Rifaa. Primary interrogations revealed the defendants had been arrested for their involvement in a similar heist in Naif. We suspected they had robbed the electronics company as the two heists were carried out using the same modus operandi. We questioned two of the suspects, who claimed they stole the laptops. During questioning, the defendants said a runaway suspect [F.] asked them to gather up in front of the company … then they broke the locks and stole the laptops that they transported in the pickup. M.A. and A.A. supposedly helped the defendants sell the laptops for Dh1,000 per item,” he claimed.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
