Five men from a Central Asian country have been sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of stealing a safe loaded with cash, gold jewellery, luxury watches, and other valuables from a villa in Dubai’s Jebel Ali area. The Dubai Criminal Court also ordered their deportation following the completion of their jail terms.
According to Khaleej Times, the group entered the UAE on visit visas and committed the burglary while the homeowners were away on a trip abroad.
The crime came to light in March when a European woman returned to her villa and found the front door unlocked. Inside, she discovered her home ransacked and a safe missing. The stolen safe reportedly contained foreign currencies, gold items, expensive watches, personal documents, cheques, and even 10 old mobile phones her husband had collected.
Investigators from the Criminal Investigation Department managed to identify the suspects through surveillance camera footage and vehicle rental records. One of the men had leased the car used in the crime, which eventually led officers to a rented apartment in another emirate where the group was staying.
Authorities successfully arrested the suspects and recovered the stolen belongings. The court found sufficient evidence to convict the five men of theft. They will serve their sentence in jail before being deported from the UAE.
