Brazen burglar who steals with a mark

DUBAI A brazen burglar broke into at least four flats in Muhaisnah within 48 hours and made away with thousands of dirhams in cash, jewellery and electronic items, XPRESS has learnt.

As if this was not audacious enough, he left his trademark by returning some of stolen items at the victims’ doorsteps. He even rang their doorbell to alert them but escaped before they could open the door.

In the first break-in, reported between August 7 and 8, a resident’s laptop, charger and a 500-gigabyte external hard drive were stolen.

The thief struck a second apartment on the same day, taking Dh15,000 in cash and two external drives. In a bizarre twist, the thief returned the two external drives to the victim’s door.

The break-ins were reported in the five-block Wasl Building in Muhaisnah, behind Lulu Village. “My wife and I were out at work and our child was with a baby sitter on August 7 when the break-in happened,” said Sadiq, a victim.

The victims believe the burglar — or burglars — must be familiar with the building layout as most of the burgled units were next to the fire exit and maintenance vent.

“My unit is next to a vent, and we think the burglar went through it to break open one of the windows.”

Residents said that since the incidents took place, all windows next to vents were permanently locked by Al Wasl Properties staff.

Another family reported losing cash and personal belongings.

“When I went to the security guards to report the incident on the night of (August 8), another victim was already there also reporting a similar break-in.”

No comment was immediately available from the property firm or the police.

- With inputs from Habiba Abd El Aziz