DUBAI// A man who helped steal Dh2 million worth of electric cables from a Nakheel construction site has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Pakistani M E, 27, denied an armed robbery charge when he appeared at the Dubai Criminal Court last month. However, he was convicted and jailed.
On July 25, M E, along with a group of unidentified men, raided the site in Warsan, attacked a Pakistani security guard, tied him up and stole the cables.
“I have been with the company for three months only and was assigned to the location just five days before the incident,” said 28-year-old guard Z K.
Z K patrolled the site on foot between 8pm and 8am every day. “At nearly 1.30am, a car pulled over and a man stepped forward identifying himself as a CID officer. He then he asked me for my ID,” said the guard.
Z K was then attacked by five men who tore his uniform and used his under shirt to restrain him. They covered his head with a coat and locked him in the security room.
“They held knives and told me they would cut my head off if I moved or said a word,” testified Z K.
After nearly an hour and a half, the guard managed to free himself and saw that electric cables worth Dh1,979 million had been stolen from the site’s warehouse.
Z K walked to a nearby construction site and used the guard’s phone to call police after the attackers stole his mobile.
“Our investigations found that the defendant had a criminal record for several similar robberies, therefore we had him arrested,” testified policeman A S, 39.
Police said M E confessed to stealing the cables but did not provide them with the identities of the other men who took part in the robbery.
“He told us they sold some of the cables for Dh16,000 from which he was paid Dh1,500,” added A S.
M E will be deported after serving his jail term.
salamir@thenational.ae
