DUBAI // A family came home from church to find their villa had been burgled and more than Dh200,000 worth of jewellery stolen.

Briton R S, 42, his wife, three children and maid returned to their home in Umm Suqeim on March 3 this year but were not immediately aware they had been robbed.

The theft was noticed when the Briton was looking for an iPad in the bedroom and noticed his wife’s jewellery box was unlocked and her jewellery missing. He called police immediately.

He subsequently found other items missing, including cufflinks worth Dh15,000 and a laptop worth Dh5,000.

Police said that there had been several robberies in the same area.

Three months after the burglary, police arrested two Pakistani brothers, J A, 48, and E A, 40, who were carrying a black bag that contained ropes and a screwdriver.

Officers suspected they were about to burgle another premises.

When they searched the brothers’ home they found some of the items stolen from the Briton’s villa.

Under interrogation, the brothers confessed to stealing the Briton’s laptop and sending it to their family in Pakistan. They said they gave some of the jewellery to a Bangladeshi cleaner, E N, 32, and a Filipina maid, L P, 48.

At the Misdemeanors Court, the brothers denied burglary, while the cleaner and maid both denied knowingly possessing stolen items.

The case was adjourned to September 25.

salamir@thenational.ae