Dubai; Three men have been jailed for three years on charges of kidnapping and theft after they assaulted and bound up two security guards watching over a construction site and left them in a remote area before making off with Dh170,000 worth of cables.

The sentenced men, A.M., 32, O.N., 23, and S.M., 31, beat up the Indian guards before transporting them in their truck from the construction site in Dubai to an open area in Sharjah where they left them tied up at 4.30am.

The Pakistani trio later returned to the construction site in Jebel Ali along Al Hibab road and stole the cables before driving back to Sharjah industrial area where they sold the cables and split the money.

Two or more other suspects who remain at large are believed to have aided in the crime.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted A.M., O.N. and S.M. of kidnap by using physical force and theft.

The defendants pleaded not guilty in court.

“We did not kidnap or steal anything,” A.M. told the court.

According to the primary ruling, the defendants will be deported following the completion of their punishments.

One of the security guards testified that the defendants parked their truck 15-metres away from the site’s location at 4.30m.

“They were eight men … some of them wore Emirati dress and they were all masked. They assaulted us and beat us with their arms. They forcibly blindfolded us, put us in a vehicle and drove off to Sharjah where they kept us tied up in an unpopulated area,” he testified.

The site’s Pakistani safety officer said his assistant informed him by phone that the security guards had been kidnapped.

“We found the guards left in Sharjah and when we found them they were afraid and crying. The stolen cables totalled around Dh170,000,” he claimed.

A policeman testified that primary interrogations exposed the involvement of the Pakistani trio in the theft.

“Upon questioning, A.M. admitted that they gathered up in Sharjah where they decided to steal the cables from the site in Dubai. He said they drove three cars to the site, attacked the guards and then kidnapped them to Sharjah then they stole the cables. He also claimed that they sold the stolen cables for Dh44,000 and split the money,” he claimed.

The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 13 days.