International crime gang jailed over Dh700,000 Dubai burglary

Local men helped the gang buy equipment from Dragonmart to use in the burglaries and showed them areas in Dubai where they could find lavish villas to target.

DUBAI // An international crime gang from Colombia were convicted on Monday of stealing Dh700,000 worth of jewellery and other valuables from a Dubai villa.

GA, 28, FR, 25, JA, 23, JAA, 24, and CM, 23, were found guilty by Dubai Criminal Court of breaking into a house in Nad Al Hamar and stealing Dh450,000 worth of jewellery, watches worth Dh250,000, US$18,000 in cash as well as a device that controls surveillance cameras.

The gang were caught in Oman and one admitted to being involved in burglaries across the globe. They had befriended a Sudanese man on Facebook to help with local knowledge when they arrived in Dubai to commit their crimes.

Each of the five Colombians were sentenced to five years in jail, followed by deportation.

TJ, 20, and MM, 20, both from Sudan, were convicted of aiding and abetting the five Colombians and were sentenced to three years in jail each, followed by deportation.

On June 27 last year and before that date, the Colombians carried out a series of burglaries around the emirate.

Emirati MA, 42, said he returned home at about 11.30pm and found his bedroom in a mess.

“I checked the other rooms and found they had all been messed with and, when I checked for the valuables, I found they had all been stolen,” he said.

Policeman HA, 50, said the burglars entered his villa through an open window in the children’s playroom.

“We managed to track down the suspects through the rental car they used in the robbery,” said HA, adding that the car had been rented under the name of a British national but officers could find no records of him entering or exiting the country.

“We suspected that the passport used in renting the car was a forgery,” the officer said.

On July 7, TJ was arrested. “He confessed to aiding a Colombian gang in carrying out the robbery of this villa and other robberies as well,” said HA.

“He said he and MM met with the defendants on Sharjah Corniche then took them to a flat in Dubai, which was rented for the Colombians to use during their stay,” said the officer.

The Sudanese men helped the gang buy equipment from Dragonmart to use in the burglaries and showed them areas in Dubai where they could find lavish villas to target.

“When we arrested MM he hid some of his share from the robberies around his groin,” said HA.

MM confessed that he had met one of the Colombians on Facebook a year ago and he agreed to help him and his accomplices in the crimes.

Police arrested the five Colombians in Oman, in collaboration with Omani authorities, on July 9 last year.

“GA confessed during questioning that he and his accomplices carried out a series of burglaries in several counties around the world,” said HA.

GA was found guilty of forging and using a fake British passport to rent the car that they used.

Some of the stolen items were found hidden inside children’s toys.

In court last November, TJ and MM denied aiding and abetting charges. GA denied all charges against him, while FR, JA, JAA and CM confessed but said the value of the items they stole was less than what was detailed in court records.

However, they were all convicted and will serve time in jail.