Dubai: Four men have been jailed for six months each for using a pair of iron scissors to break into a company’s warehouse and steal Dh27,000 worth of smart phone accessories.
An Indian businessman was informed that someone had broken the locks of the front door of his company’s warehouse in Al Quoz and stole accessories in July.
The businessman alerted the Dubai Police that a thief or more had burgled his warehouse between 6pm and 9am.
The quartet, three Pakistani workers and a Bangladeshi clerk, were apprehended after police’s preliminary investigation exposed them to have been involved in similar burglaries.
On Thursday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the four of forming a gang and breaking into the warehouse from where they stole Dh27,000 worth of phone accessories.
Presiding judge Urfan Omar said the defendants, aged between 21 and 48, will be deported after serving their jail terms.
The defendants pleaded not guilty in court.
The businessman said he was informed about the forced entry and theft at 9am.
“I headed to the warehouse instantly and found that the doors had been broken … a thief or more forced their way into the place and stole a phone and a security guard’s mobile phone. The culprits must have broken into the warehouse sometime after midnight as the area is constantly crowded during daytime,” he told prosecutors.
A police corporal said they had received reports about thefts carried out using the same modus operandi.
“The defendants were apprehended in Sharjah for their involvement in robberies that had been carried out in the same modus operandi … and then they were handed over to us. During questioning, they admitted that they used iron scissors to force their way into the company’s warehouse and steal the accessories. Some of the stolen accessories were recovered from the homes of two of the defendants,” he testified.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
