DUBAI // Two men who stole diamonds and jewellery worth more than Dh23,000 from a safe were on Wednesday each sentenced to a year in jail.
Emiratis A T, 34, and A M, 24, who broke into a house in August last year while the homeowners were on holiday and forced open the safe, were convicted of theft by Dubai Criminal Court.
They took US$3,400 (Dh12,488) in cash, Dh23,000 worth of gold jewellery set with diamonds, two gold necklaces and gold coins.
Emirati women S T, 30, and H K, 31, and Iraqi M Y, 30, who allegedly sold the stolen goods to a jewellery shop, were found not guilty of possession of stolen items.
“When we returned from our holiday in Australia, we tried to open the door but the keys wouldn’t work, so we used another door and found my wife’s car boot was open,” said Australian businessman B A.
He told prosecutors that his son found the door unlocked.
“I made sure the doors were locked, which raised my suspicion that something wrong had happened.”
Jewellery shop owner H S, 31, told the court: “They [S T and H K] showed me the jewellery and I agreed to buy it for Dh17,000.”
He said that he photocopied S T’s ID card then proceeded with the purchase.
Policeman A N told prosecutors that H K accompanied S T to the shop to avoid suspicion.
“She haggled over the prices with the Yemeni trader, which helped in removing any suspicions of S T,” said the officer.
“The gang divided the responsibilities between them – A T and A M carried out the robberies, S T and H K kept some of the items and tried to sell them, while M Y’s role was to hide the stolen items.”
At Dubai Criminal Court in July, A M denied theft while A T was not present to enter a plea.
salamir@thenational.ae
