Three men on trial for Dh1 million Dubai villa robbery

Three Chinese men, on visit visas, have gone on trial for robbing Dh800,000 worth of gold and diamond jewellery and Dh200,000 in cash from a villa.
Public prosecution records show that two of them, aged 31 and 25, climbed the wall of the villa in Al Warqa, while the residents were away, and decamped with the stolen pieces on September 15. They also physically assaulted two police officers and resisted being taken into custody.
The third accused, 36, is charged in the Court of First Instance with possessing the stolen valuables.
"I left the villa at 11am on September 14 and took my family and our two housemaids to attend a wedding ceremony. We returned at 3am only to discover that my bedroom's door was forcibly opened and the safe too," the Emirati villa owner said.
He told the prosecutor that many gold and diamond sets, belonging to his wife, and more than 30 expensive brand watches were robbed.
He said the jewellery was worth more than Dh800,000 and added that Dh200,000 in cash was missing, too, from the safe. He pointed out that there could be more items that had been stolen.
A police lieutenant said they arrested the trio after being tipped-off by a reliable source about their involvement in a series of similar robberies.
"We nabbed two of the accused at the International City on September 25. They assaulted our police officers who were executing an arrest order against them. The accused admitted at the general directorate of criminal investigation that they had rented a car and targeted the villa after noticing that its lights were off and on realizing that the family was away," the lieutenant said.

• Dubai

Marie Nammour

mary@khaleejtimes.com