Dubai storekeeper accused of stealing empty barrels

Dubai: A storekeeper has been accused of stealing 38 barrels used to store liquor from a famous hotel in Dubai.

The 42-year-old Indian storekeeper, P.V., was said to have abused his job at a marine and trade company and stolen 38 barrels that were stored at the hotel’s branch at Airport Road.

“Yes, Sir, I took the beer barrels…but they were empty,” argued P.V. when he defended himself before the Dubai Court of First Instance.

“If they were empty, why did you to steal them?” presiding judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi asked the defendant.

“I took the empty barrels so I could sell them as scrap,” replied the suspect.

A British manager testified that one of the staff informed him that he had spotted the defendant taking the barrels. “One of the workers disclosed to me that he saw P.V. taking away the empty barrels that we used to store alcohol. Two people helped the defendant move the barrels on a small truck. When I confronted the defendant he admitted stealing the barrels. Each barrels costs between $100 (Dh367) and $150 depending on its size. Police came to our workplace and arrested the suspect,” claimed the manager.

Meanwhile, a Bangladeshi worker testified that he spotted two Asian workers helping P.V. load the barrels on a truck on January 14.

“He claimed to me that the company had assigned him to consign the barrels when I confronted him. I immediately told him that his allegations were not true because he had finished his work shift. When I asked him to show me the company’s order book, he jumped into the truck and ran away,” claimed the worker.

A judgement will be heard on March 27.