Hotel heist: Daring robbery

Dubai Police are tracking down a man who barged into a hotel boutique in Jumeirah on Monday evening and ran away with Dh6 million worth of jewellery.

Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief, confirmed the daring heist that happened at around 10.30pm at the Al Qasr Hotel.

Witnesses told investigators that the man, who was carrying a metal tool, went inside the hotel to the hallway leading to the Levant store. He managed to pry open a showcase and snatched a diamond necklace and two rings.

A store clerk alerted a security guard who rushed and attempted to stop the heist but he fell on the floor after the suspect pushed him back.

The suspect casually walked away from the hotel and boarded his getaway car, which was parked approximately 250 metres away from the establishment's entrance.

“It is not clear why the security guard did not pursue him or raise an alarm,'' Dahi said, adding that investigators are looking at the role of hotel and store employees. The incident happened while the store was open. The hotel's lobby, which was near the store, was also brimming with guests, police said.

A hotel employee who was at the establishment's entrance told XPRESS that the suspect, who was wearing black, seemed like a hotel guest.

Print marks

Police forensic experts were able to lift prints from a part of the necklace which was left behind when the suspect scuffled with the security guard.

Investigators are also studying footage from the hotel's security cameras.

The incident happened almost two years after a group of men brandishing fake guns barged into a store in Wafi City mall and took away Dh14.7 million worth of jewellery.

A Serbian national was sentenced earlier this month to 10 years in prison as an accomplice in the robbery case.