Dubai: Dubai Police on Sunday announced the arrest of eleven people belonging to two gangs responsible for multiple incidents of robberies in posh communities in Dubai. They allegedly stole jewellery and watches worth approximately Dh15 million.
Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief, said the gangs robbed villas in Arabian Ranches, Emirates Hills, Jumeirah, Al Safa and Al Rashidiya, in addition to homes in other emirates.
“The two gangs were mainly Colombian. The first gang consisted of five Colombians, who were helped by two Sudanese men who were familiar with the UAE. The other gang consisted of two Colombians, one American and one Mexican,” he said.
The first gang had 14 theft reports against them in Dubai and nine in other emirates, while the second gang had seven reports in Dubai and six in other emirates. The arrests were made in coordination with Omani authorities and authorities of the other emirates.
Maj Gen Al Mazeina said that all the suspects arrived in the country for the sole purpose of robbing homes.
Both the gangs targeted villas when residents were not at home. “In some cases, there were maids in the villas but they were staying in a different extension, so did not notice the thefts,” he said.
Investigations, he said, showed that both gangs were receiving orders from a person who lived in Southeast Asia, but there was no evidence that they were working together. “We have contacted the authorities of the Asian country to arrest the man,” he said.
The two gangs would break into houses through windows and then take the safe, crack it open and steal its contents. They then dumped some of the safes in the sea. “Divers from Dubai Police retrieved one safe from Dubai Creek,”
“On June 28, the first gang robbed a villa in Nad Al Hamar, when the owner was not in the house. They climbed over the wall and used tools to break the locks, before stealing the contents of the house’s safe. That was their last theft.” Maj Gen Al Mazeina said.
Teams from the Criminal Investigation Department were formed and found out that one of the suspects had rented a luxury car using a fake European passport. Following that lead, the team managed to find the suspect, Sudanese M.M. and his Sudanese partner, T.A., and arrested them at their home in Sharjah. The two men led them to the five Colombian suspects, J.A., also known as Andres, F.A. or Majula, J.A. nicknamed Jason, J.A. a.k.a Himto, and K.K. nicknamed Kenny.
The five men were arrested in Oman and extradited to the UAE.
The two Sudanese men, one of whom was born and raised in the UAE, would tell the gang which areas were likely to have rich residents and guide them to the locations, which the gang saved on their GPS to come back to later.
“M.M. met one of the Colombians in jail in Malaysia, where they both were serving a sentence. Later on he contacted him on Facebook and collaborated on the thefts,” said Maj Gen Al Mazeina.
The suspects admitted to the theft, and police seized plastics toys that the suspects used to hide the jewellery.
As for the second gang, they were arrested on July 8.
Police received a theft report on July 7 from an Asian man who lived in Jumeirah 1, whose home was broken into and valuables stolen while on vacation.
Major General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs, said teams were able to identify the suspects in four months, who were staying in Al Nahda area in Sharjah.
The men had rented two cars, also using fake passports, and this helped the police identify them.
The American, R.J., and Colombian, D.A., were arrested at their home and M.A., the Mexican, was arrested trying to flee in one of the cars. The fourth suspect, M.A. from Colombia, was arrested trying to leave the country through a land border.
“The authorities found the stolen items hidden behind a false ceiling in their apartment.”
All suspects have been transferred to the public prosecution.
Maj Gen Al Mansouri said that none of the houses that were robbed were registered with Dubai Police’s home security services.
He urged people who are travelling to register with the service to avoid thefts.
