Dubai: Four men were cleared on Wednesday of forcing their way into a villa when its tenants were on holiday and stealing Dh500,000 in cash and valuables.

The quartet — three Sri Lankans and a Pakistani — had denied using a screwdriver and a crowbar to break into the villa in Al Twar and stealing cash and valuables in September 2015.

At the time when the theft happened, the villa’s Emirati tenant was away on holiday with his family.

The Emirati’s driver called him up and notified him that the villa had been robbed.

Police investigation revealed the involvement of a 47-year-old Pakistani, who was the first to be apprehended. A 37-year-old Sri Lankan man was arrested afterwards. The other two Sri Lankans remained at large.

When the 47-year-old and the 37-year-old suspects showed up before the Dubai Court of First Instance, they denied breaking into the villa and stealing cash and valuables.

Citing lack of corroborated evidence, presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi acquitted the four men of breaking into the villa and stealing.

The 47-year-old told the court: “I have been detained since 2015 and I was not involved in the theft.”

“I was not in the UAE at the time when the incident happened. I came here for the first time and here is my passport to prove that … I was apprehended over mistaken identity,” the 37-year-old Sri Lankan argued in court.

The Emirati tenant told prosecutors that his driver told him over the phone when he was abroad that someone had broken into the villa.

“I returned to Dubai and when I visited my house, I discovered that my wife’s jewellery and valuables had been stolen. The thieves had broken the master bedroom’s door and stole cash and valuable items from the safe. The thieves stole [a] diamond-plated ring, earrings, a pendant, a diamond necklace and some white gold items that were kept in the drawers,” the tenant testified to prosecutors.

A policeman claimed to prosecutors that primary investigation led to the arrest of the 47-year-old and the 37-year-old for their involvement in the theft.

Wednesday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.