Two arrested for robbing 30 villas

Dubai: Two African nationals who entered the country on visit visas were arrested on Saturday for stealing valuables worth around Dh10 million from 30 villas in the Jumeirah and Mirdiff areas, police said on Tuesday.

All of the robberies took place in the morning hours during the month of May.

While the robbers used sharp tools to open drawers and closets, they employed tear gas to control guard dogs at two of the villas, Col Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Head, Dubai Police Criminal Investigation Department, told a press conference today.

The stolen items included jewellery, cash, laptops and other valuables, which the suspects stashed away at their residence in the Al Naif area.

“We followed one of the suspects to locate his accomplice and recovered the items,'' said Al Mansouri.

The second suspect was hiding in a hotel at Al Naif. He was using a fake passport, he said.

Al Mansouri pointed out that one of the thieves used to knock on doors, pretending to be beggar just to check if the house was empty.

Lieutenant Colonel Jamal Salim Al Jallaf, Director of Criminal Surveillance, said the victims were contacted to identify their belongings.

He urged residents to subscribe to the Dubai Police's free service to keep their homes secure. The “Houses Safety'' programme has a data of subscribers who register themselves when they are out of the country so that police patrols in the neighbourhood keep watch on their properties.

He noted that more than 200 villas had registered themselves for the service last year.