Five jailed and fined Dhs455,000 on robbery charges

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced three Asians in presence and two others in absentia to six months in jail to be followed by deportation and fined them Dhs455,000 for stealing the same amount of the fine and special documents from the owner of a store for selling furniture in which three of the defendants worked.

The case dated back to last May when the owner of a store for selling furniture in the Dragon Mart filed a complaint in which he stated that his briefcase containing Dhs455,000 and documents had been stolen from his vehicle. While he was about to get into his vehicle, an Asian took him by surprise, stole his briefcase and fled away, he said.

According to the official documents, a team of detectives gathered inferences and found that three salesmen working for the store owner were involved in the theft. They were arrested and part of the stolen money was found in their possession. One of the defendants admitted that he agreed with two of his workmates to steal the storeowner’s money.

The defendant said he agreed with his two workmates to persuade the storeowner to install surveillance cameras inside the store, adding that the storeowner assigned him to communicate with a special to install the cameras.

Another defendant said he communicated with two more defendants, who are still at large, to install cameras inside the store and direct one of them to the safe. He also asked them to give him the secret code of the surveillance cameras once they were installed.

The third defendant admitted that he was checking the surveillance cameras when he saw the storeowner putting money in his briefcase and heading to his vehicle in the Dragon Mart’s car-parks.

He contacted the other two defendants, who are still at large, and one of them took the storeowner by surprise, snatched his briefcase and fled away. The three salesmen confessed to having divided the stolen money and each received Dhs65,000.

Some Dhs65,000 was found with one of the defendants, while Dhs50,000 was found with the second and Dhs37,000 with the third.