Five men sentenced to two years in jail for stealing gold and cash from a Dubai villa

Dubai: A gang of five men have been sentenced to two years in jail for stealing gold jewellery worth Dh250,000 and Dh70,000 in cash from a Dubai villa.

According to the Dubai Court of First Instance, the 40-year-old South African defendant was caught in less than 24 hours after robbing a villa in the Al Rashidiya area with four other defendants. He was arrested at Dubai International Airport while trying to flee the country.

Emirati villa owner

According to the court record, they broke into villa in August last year and stole gold jewellery worth Dh250,000 and Dh70,000 in cash kept in a safe. The 37-year-old Emirati villa owner testified that he had left house in the afternoon to attend a funeral in Abu Dhabi and returned after midnight to discover the robbery. “Police told me the suspects had broken into the villa from a window,” the Emirati victim said.

Three other suspects

After 12 hours, Dubai Police summoned him to identify the stolen safe. A policeman said that they had caught one of the defendants at Dubai Airport before he could leave the country. “He confessed robbing several houses along with the other suspects. We found the stolen items and arrested the other suspects also.

Dubai Public Prosecution had charged the defendants — a South African, three Tanzanians and a Bangladeshi — with robbery and damaging the villa’s window and door. The court ordered to deport the defendants after serving their jail term.