DUBAI // Four members of a six-man burglary gang were arrested at Dubai airport while trying to flee with a large amount of jewellery hidden inside date paste, Dubai Criminal Court heard on Thursday.
Police were aware of several burglaries in villas across Dubai, with the last report made on December 11 last year by an Emirati who returned to his villa in Al Barsha to find the place in a mess and valuable items stolen.
After investigations, a CID team connected six Sri Lankan men to the crimes.
“We arrested four of the defendants while trying to flee the country from Dubai airport. Searching their luggage, we found a lot of jewellery items hidden inside date dough,” said an Emirati police officer, 26.
The other two were arrested in Sharjah.
The officer said that during questioning, the men confessed to stealing from villas after distributing fake brochures to villas and then checking a week later to see if they had been picked up or remained in place.
“They did so to check if the owners of the villa were in the house or away, so they can carry on with their scheme,” the officer said.
The men stole jewellery, cash and smart gadgets from the Al Barsha villa. They allegedly confessed to police that they had carried out numerous other burglaries and would leave the country afterwards then return for more.
In court on Thursday, the men, aged between 26 and 40, were charged with armed robbery, forming a gang, damaging property and trespassing, which they all denied.
The next hearing will be on January 23.
salamir@thenational.ae
