Men stole bulldozer worth Dh2.5m, hears Dubai court

DUBAI // Three men stole a bulldozer worth Dh2.5 million, a court heard.

Pakistanis A H, 27, and S A, 24, and Indian M A, 32, rented the vehicle from a contractor, agreeing to pay Dh34,000 a month.

But they took it to Oman using forged documents and tried to sell it, according to prosecutors.

The Criminal Court heard that the company’s Emirati owner A A, 47, leased two bulldozers to the men on March 20 this year and that a man calling himself Yasser came to pick them up.

“The deal was that the vehicles be rented along with their drivers,” the owner said.

The drivers went with Yasser, but shortly after leaving the office they called the owner and told him he had left them with one of the bulldozers and disappeared with the other vehicle.

Six days later the owner heard about a bulldozer for sale in Oman.

“It carried the same vehicle identification number and I knew then that it must have been sent to Oman using forged shipping documents,” he said.

He reported the theft. Police lieutenant M H, 27, testified that on May 4 this year officers arrested one of the men at Dubai Customs when he submitted forged documents in a case unrelated to the bulldozer. They suspected his involvement in the theft of the vehicle and he led them to the two other men.

The officer said a search of their homes uncovered their laptops, which had evidence of how they forged the vehicle’s documents.

A large amount of cash and fake stamps were also found.

Police and prosecutors said the trio confessed willingly during investigations but they denied charges of forgery and embezzlement in court.

The next hearing was scheduled for November 4.