Video: Man wears abaya, steals Dh3 million from safe in Dubai

Dubai - The man broke into an apartment in City Walk.

The Dubai Police have caught a thief who flew to the emirate to rob a safe inside an apartment in City Walk. The man was arrested 47 minutes after he broke into a flat and made away with valuables worth Dh3 million.
A video released by the Dubai Police on Instagram showed the movements of the suspect from the moment he arrived at the airport late night on October 6.
Major-General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, said the force had tip-off about a European gang, which had planned major crimes in a systematic manner.
The next day of the suspect's arrival, he went straight to a store to buy some equipment to use for the burglary, before moving to a modest hotel in Naif area, where he booked a two-night stay.
On October 8, he left the hotel with a bag carrying his equipment to perform the theft. Soon, in a nearby hotel, he changed into an abaya to conceal his identity.
Then, he took a cab towards City Walk, where he broke into the targeted apartment and started to tamper with a safe inside the apartment.
He carried the safe into one of the bathrooms, where he poured chemicals on the safe to disable the alarm. After that, he cracked it open using a drill that he bought locally.
In a haste the accused even left a portion of the money and some other valuables inside the safe.
CCTV footage from the apartment building showed him escaping with two bags, one with the money and the other in which he brought the equipment. He changed his clothes at a textile shop before taking the money back to his hotel room. The Dubai Police nabbed him soon with the stolen goods, including precious watches and money.
The video ended with a quote from the owner of the house who told the cops:
"They asked me whether I have insurance. I said no. I'm in Dubai and Dubai is my insurance."
The police urged residents to take advantage of the Housing Security programme to secure their houses during their absence.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com