Dubai: Three jobless men have been accused of breaking into an electronics store and stealing Dh40,000 worth of mobile phones and devices.
The Afghan trio, M.A., Q.Z. and N.C., were said to have armed themselves with screwdrivers and broken the locks of the store in Naif area and stole tens of mobile phones and electronic devices in September and October last year.
Prosecutors charged the trio with stealing Dh21,000 worth of items in September and Dh19,000 worth of mobile phones in October from the same store.
Q.Z. and N.C. pleaded not guilty when they showed up before the Dubai Court of First Instance unlike M.A. who entered a guilty plea on Tuesday.
“I was outside the UAE at the time when the incident took place. I did not commit this crime,” Q.Z. told presiding judge Shaikha Al Gefaili.
According to the accusation sheet, the Afghan suspects committed the robbery along with other suspects who remain at large.
The store’s Indian owner testified to prosecutors that he closed the store at midnight on September 29.
“The next day when I went to open the store, I discovered that it had been burgled. The culprits had broken into the store and stole a number of electronic devices and mobile phones. I reported the burglary to the police. Nine days later, the store was robbed a second time using the same modus operandi,” said the owner.
A police lieutenant claimed to prosecutors that a special team was formed to investigate the two robberies.
“The suspects had broken the glass on both occasions and robbed the place at night. In April 2015, the three Afghan suspects were apprehended in Ras Al Khaimah for their involvement in other robberies carried out using the same modus operandi. During questioning, the defendants admitted that they broke into the electronics store in Naif area. They claimed that there were eight suspects. They alleged that they used screwdrivers to break into the shop,” testified the lieutenant.
A ruling will be heard on October 27.
