Men threatened to kill guard before stealing electric cables, Dubai court hears

Prosecutors say that at midday on October 1 last year three men stole Dh18,000 worth of cables from Al Sahel Contracting Company.

DUBAI // Three men assaulted a warehouse guard and threatened to kill him when he caught them stealing Dh18,000 worth of electric cables, a court heard today.

Prosecutors said that at midday on October 1 last year the three men took the cables from Al Sahel Contracting Company and began loading them onto a pickup truck when the guard noticed them and asked what they were doing.

They told the guard they had orders from the company's management to take the cables.

"I didn't believe them and when I tried to stop them, they assaulted me, tied me with cables then threatened to kill me if I said anything to police," recalled the security guard.

After the men left he managed to untie himself then informed his company what had happened and police were called.

When the men were arrested police found cables worth nearly Dh18,000 in their possession.

Under interrogation two of the men denied the cables were from the warehouse, claiming they had bought them from workers across the emirate with the intention of selling them on. But the third man, AA, contradicted their claims, saying he had seen them taking the cables from the warehouse. He said he was under the impression they taking the cables legally, and was unaware he was taking part in a robbery.

At the Criminal Court Pakistanis NM, 24, AA, 25 and MH, 30, all denied charges of armed robbery and issuing threats to kill.

A verdict is expected on July 16.