Dubai: Three thieves, who burgled four Dubai villas and made off with more than Dh3 million worth of gold jewellery, were caught attempting to smuggle the gold hidden in their bodies through Dubai International Airport.
Dubai Police said the men melted the gold jewellery into smaller gold bars before hiding the bars in their colons to get past airport security.
Major-General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police for Criminal Investigation Affairs, said this was the first time that the police had seen this method used for smuggling stolen gold out of the country.
“This is the first time we caught a gang trying to smuggle stolen gold by hiding it inside their bodies. This method is usually used by drug smugglers, not thieves, but Dubai Police officers have the necessary skills to detect any new method used by criminals,” Maj-Gen Al Mansouri said.
Police said they had recorded a few villa burglaries of late when their owners were outside the country on vacation.
Investigators identified the suspects and sent their pictures to all border checkpoints to prevent them from fleeing from the country.
“We located their place and learnt they were planning to leave the country and raided the flat. We found some stolen gold and melting tools,” Maj-Gen Al Mansouri added.
Officers at the airport got suspicious at the body language of the suspects when they arrived at the airport. Police subjected them to the X-ray scan which detected strange objects in their colons.
Police referred the suspects, who hail from Asia, to the Dubai Public Prosecution to complete the investigation.
Maj-Gen Al Mansouri urged villa owners to secure their places before going on vacation and subscribe to the ‘Home Security’ programme through Dubai Police smart application or by visiting the nearest police station.
“We send police patrols regularly to check the villa of anyone who registers with the programme. People can also put automatic lighting in the houses to send a message that someone is inside the villa. Don’t keep cash or jewellery in villas, better keep them in bank lockers,” Maj-Gen Al Mansouri added.
