Dubai: A visitor, who scaled a wall and broke into a villa in Jumeirah and stole Dh500,000 in cash and jewellery, has been jailed for three years.

The 45-year-old Colombian visitor, J.D., made sure that the villa was empty before he broke into it and used a screwdriver to destroy a bag that contained the keys of safes.

Then he opened the safes and stole Dh400,000 worth of gold and other jewellery, Dh25,000 in cash and Dh75,000 worth of foreign currency in June.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted him of theft, trespassing and wrecking a private property after he pleaded guilty.

Presiding judge Urfan Omar also ordered J.D. to pay Dh21,000 in temporary civil compensation to the owners of the villa.

The accused will be deported following the completion of his punishment, according to the primary verdict.

J.D. and another suspect, who remains at large, forced their way into the villa and stole cash and jewellery and caused Dh1,000 worth of damage to the villa’s entrance and a bag, said records.

The villa’s Egyptian tenant said the burglary happened when he had taken his family for iftar during Ramadan.

“When we returned, my wife saw the safe in the bedroom open. I called the police and told them what had happened. Police forensic experts came to the villa and lifted fingerprints,” the tenant said.

“I had kept the safes’ keys in the bag ... The thieves destroyed the bag and took the keys and opened the bigger safe that contained two smaller safes, inside which we had kept the cash and my wife’s jewellery,” the Egyptian said.

A police lieutenant said the accused was arrested in a sting operation in Dubai.

“J.D. claimed during questioning that he and his American accomplice [the absconder] knocked on the door several times to make sure nobody was inside. Then they jumped over the fence and opened the door from inside using a screwdriver. He claimed that he found a small box and, when he opened it, the keys of the safes were there. He said both of them fled after taking the cash and jewellery. When we raided J.D.’s residence, we recovered a part of the stolen jewellery,” he testified.

The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 13 days.