Dubai: Three men have been accused of stealing Dh12,400 and two wristwatches worth Dh15,000 after they broke into a villa after midnight.

The Chinese trio, aged between 26 and 28, were said to have used iron tools to break into the villa of an Emirati merchant, and stealing cash and wristwatches from two safes in July 2015.

The merchant’s Filipina maid was said to have spotted the footprints in the sitting room and bedrooms of villa, though the house had been vacant that evening.

Having been arrested for their involvement in another theft case that had been carried out in the same manner, two of the Chinese suspects were quizzed by the police about the incident.

Records said they admitted to the interrogating police officer that they entered the villa through the kitchen door, brought out the two safes from the bedrooms, broke them open and stole cash and watches.

During questioning the two men informed the police that their third accomplice left the country two days following the incident.

Prosecutors accused the two arrested suspects and the absconder of using a hard tool to break into the villa and stealing cash and two wristwatches from their.

The two suspects pleaded not guilty when they appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Sunday.

The 26-year-old suspect told presiding judge Mohammad Jamal that he would submit his written defence when the court reconvenes on August 22.

The Filipina maid told prosecutors that she went to bed at 9.30pm after locking doors of the villa. “When I woke up the next morning, I saw sand footprints on the floor of the living room and bedrooms. The suspects left the broken safes in a corridor on the upper floor. The culprits broke into the villa through a window. I told the gardener about the incident and he reported the matter to the police after being instructed to do so by our sponsor,” the maid told prosecutors.

A police corporal told prosecutors that the fingerprints lifted from the villa matched with those of two suspects who had been arrested in a case of similar nature.

The trial continues.