Dubai: A vendor at an electronics store has been accused of stealing 22 smart phones by pasting them to his leg under his pants and smuggling them out of work.

An Indian vendor was said to have noticed his 40-year-old Ugandan vendor removing an earpiece from its box, hiding it in his pocket and leaving the storehouse where they were doing a stock-count on newly arrived items in December 2015.

Another co-worker, an Indian, also spotted the Ugandan taking away the earpiece and hiding it in his pocket and walking out of the storehouse.

The Indian vendors reported the same to their supervisor, according to records about what they had seen before they checked the surveillance cameras that showed the 40-year-old behaving strangely in the storehouse.

Further examination of the CCTV footages revealed that the Ugandan vendor had been removing new smart devices from their original boxes and pasting them to his leg under his pants and taking them out.

After reporting the matter to the top management, the Ugandan was called in for an internal investigation during which he admitted that he had stolen around 22 smart phones between November and December 2015.

Prosecutors accused the suspect of stealing Dh61,000 worth of smart phones [iPhone and Samsung] from his workplace.

The suspect failed to show up before the Dubai Court of First Instance where he was scheduled to enter a plea on Thursday.

The store’s Filipino assistant manager testified to prosecutors that the suspect was responsible for tagging, pricing and stacking the newly arrived devices at the storehouse.

“After he was spotted by two colleagues, the suspect was called in for an investigation at the management’s office. He admitted that he had stolen 22 phones … and signed a written confession,” the manager claimed to prosecutors.

Presiding judge Urfan Omar will sentence the suspect in absentia on July 27.