Trio jailed for helping fugitive hide Dh11m emeralds in Dubai

The emeralds had been given to them by a fourth defendant who stole the emeralds from his company then fled.

The Dubai Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's verdict in a case where three Asian persons were convicted of possessing smuggled emeralds worth nearly Dh11 million.
The trio claimed in their appeal of the one-year jail term followed by deportation that they hadn't known the emeralds were smuggled, as per an Emarat Al Youm report.
The emeralds had been given to them by a fourth defendant who stole the emeralds from his company then fled. He was sentenced in absentia to three years in jail followed by deportation.     
A witness for the prosecution said that he had received a shipment of emeralds for his father's precious stones company. He placed the shipment in a metal safe.
When the company's owner (his father) returned from a business trip, he asked about the shipment.
The witness checked the safe and realized that the emeralds were gone.
After checking CCTV cameras, it appeared that the fourth defendant had switched off cameras installed in the owner's office.
The outer cameras filmed the man leaving the office with a bag in his possession. He fled the country 24 hours later.  
After filing a complaint against the man, Al Barsha police seized a large number of emeralds in the possession of some friends and relatives of the fugitive. The gem thief also asked his father to travel to his home country to receive the rest of the emeralds.
The three defendants admitted to knowing the contents of the bag but didn't report it to the police out of fear.

• Dubai