Dubai: In a daring robbery, armed men burst into a jewellery store in Wafi City in two cars and made off with a huge amount of jewellery last night, police and witnesses said.
Both the cars used in the heist were stolen; one had a Dubai registration plate while the other was registered in Abu Dhabi, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief, told Gulf News last night.
No arrests had been made at the time of going to press, but police found the cars, abandoned and burnt, Jamal Al Merri, Deputy Commandant of Dubai Police, told Gulf News.
He said the robbers crashed into the jewellery store Graff, on the ground floor of the mall at around 9.30pm. "This is the first time I've seen such a scene in Dubai," he said.
No estimate has been made on the losses, but Lt Gen Dahi said the robbers emptied the front display of the store. He also said the criminals were unlikely to be of Arab origin. Witnesses said the assailants were masked and armed.
Hussain and Kambiz, two Dubai residents visiting the mall last night, told Gulf News: "We were shocked to see two sedans crashing in at very high speed at around 9.30pm, shattering the glass doors."
"There were four masked men inside. One car smashed the window of the jewellery shop, the men burst out ... They were all carrying guns and hammers. People started panicking, there was chaos everywhere. They took some jewellery and within minutes drove out of the mall."
Investigators at the scene said: "They were professionals ... They drove towards Zabeel where they burnt the cars."
Sally Meech, Public Relations Manager of Wafi City, told Gulf News that one of the cars broke through the front gate of the mall.
Your comments
I was shocked when I heard this news. I didn't believe it at all when my uncle told me, because my uncle's friend was there and he called my uncle and told him about the chaos.
Rashid
Dubai,UAE
We were driving on Emirates Road last night when the police stopped us at a road block
Jessica
Dubai,UAE
This is just unbelievable. I work in one of the shops in Wafi Mall. I had gone home for the day at the time of the incident but my co-workers had witnessed the scene and it was just unbelievable. We even have a video taken from a mobile phone camera of the incident by one of our co-workers. Unbelievable. It is time to question security in shopping malls. Is this a test for all shopping malls and security? There was some panic in our shop as, in such an incident, no one was aware of what to do. The supervisor in charge closed our shop and said we needed to be more aware of what to do in such incidents to avoid panic.
Sanjeev
Dubai,UAE
I was visiting the mall last night and saw the robbers running towards the shop. They looked like a bunch of immature people trying to have fun and causing panic among people.
Fahad
Dubai,UAE
If the assailants were masked, how can we make an assumption about their origin? Maybe such assumptions should be avoided in order to conduct a more professional investigation.
ABC
Dubai,UAE
It looks like a very sophisticated crime. Jewellery shops should take more precautions such as: use display cases that are shatter proof and not display a large number of goods tempting to criminals.
Chagla
Doha,Qatar
This is horrible. I can not imagine such incidents happening in Dubai. It seems to me like another adventure of uncontrolled youth.
Faisal
Dubai,UAE
I was in Wafi City at 9:30pm. It was quiet. I have never heard that kind of silence in the mall, and I am a frequent visitor of Wafi City.
Sami
Dubai,UAE
I drive a grey Audi and last night I was stopped by a policeman. The police searched my car and told me it was because a similar car was used to rob a jewellery store.
Ayoub
Dubai,UAE
