Gang robs Dh1.3 million from Dubai villa

Dubai - The six defendants, who are on visit visas, are believed to have been involved in other similar robberies that targeted villas.

A gang of six members, including a woman, has been charged at the Dubai Court of First Instance with robbing over Dh1.3 million and watches from a villa.
Dubai public prosecution records show that three Chinese men broke into the villa in the Arabian Ranches on New Year's Eve while the owner and his family were away. Three other accomplices, including a woman, are charged with possession of the ill-gotten money.
Four of the accused are detained while the two others are at large. The latter are charged in absentia.
The six defendants, who are on visit visas, are believed to have been involved in other similar robberies that targeted villas.
The Arabian Ranches incident was reported at Al Barsha police station.
The complainant, a 52-year-old Egyptian resident, told the investigator that the thieves had escaped with Dh1.3 million cash and Dh55,300 worth of watches.
"I was outside with my family. When we came back, we stayed downstairs till 4am. I discovered the robbery only when I went to my bedroom. I found the money and the watches, which I kept in envelopes and bags, missing. When I checked around, I saw that the thieves had broken into a glass door in the ground floor."
Apart from the Dh1.3 million, the gang also stole other big amounts of different currencies, passports, legal papers and some bank documents.
A police lieutenant, who interrogated the four detained accused, said that they confessed they robbed the villa and other houses together with other accomplices who fled the country.
"The fugitives left part of the cash with the main accomplice. He kept it with him until three others travelled to Dubai to pick it up from him and then smuggle it to China."
The defendants are accused of robbery at night with the use of sharp tools. They smashed a window in the ground floor to get inside the villa.
The trial will continue on April 26.
mary@khaleejtimes.com  

• Dubai