Dubai: Dubai Police nabbed a gang of thieves less than 24 hours after they stole valuable items worth millions of dirhams, including 100-year-old banknotes of Indian rupees from a Dubai villa, a court heard.
The three defendants from Chile arrived through Dubai International Airport in February 2019, and rented a car to monitor villas at Emirates Hills. Once they decided which villa to break into, they brought gloves, screwdrivers and torch from a supermarket to commit the robbery after sunset.
They entered the huge seven bedroom villa and stole 15 expensive watches of famous brands worth more than $1.5 million (Dh5.5 million), jewellery worth $4 million, three Louis Vuitton women bags worth $15,000, three sunglasses worth $6,000, 15 banknotes of Indian currency, cash and other valuable items.
The 66-year-old British villa owner reported the incident to the police who arrested the defendants in less than 24 hours. They were caught from a hotel and the stolen items recovered.
The British villa owner said that a domestic worker discovered the robbery.
“I was inside the villa when we discovered the robbery at 8.45pm when a worker was checking the lights and turning on the air-conditions in the rooms. My office was in chaos and I alerted the police. The defendants had broken the window lock to enter the house,” the businessman said in records.
The defendants confessed they came to Dubai on tourist visas with plans to commit robberies on villas.
“They also confessed to renting a car from the airport and broke into the villa after spotting luxury cars parked in front it. They stole the items and put it in a bag and checked into a hotel in Deira,” a policeman said in records.
They confessed the charges when they appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Monday.
A verdict is expected on June 24 until which time they will remain in custody.
