Two men to be jailed for $326,690 robbery in Dubai

Two Chinese men have been sentenced to one year in jail each by a Dubai court for breaking into a villa and robbing Dh1.2 million worth of jewellery. Prosecutors accused the duo, aged 32 and 22, of targeting the villa owned by an Emirati woman on the night of September 14 last year.

After observing that the villa's residents were away, they used sharp tools to break locks and gain access inside the private property. They then fled with the jewellery.

The two men, who are related, were convicted by the Court of First Instance of charges of forcible robbery with the use of sharp tools, trespass and damage of private property. One of the defendants, a 22-year-old, was sentenced in absentia as he is at large.

The Emirati complainant, 31, said her sister discovered the villa had been robbed. "She was with the driver and two domestic workers when they entered the villa and found the place in a total mess. Doors and locks had been broken. When they went to the upper floor, they found the safe had been broken, too."

The damage done to the villa was estimated at Dh30,000.

A police lieutenant said they formed a taskforce to investigate the robbery case after the complaint was received. "We nabbed the first accused on September 25, 2017. He willingly admitted that he and his relative had planned to target villas across Dubai, and towards that end, they purchased sharp tools and rented a car.

"They spotted the complainant's villa in Umm Suqeim, which had its lights off and they realised that its residents were away."

The police lieutenant told the prosecutor that one of them fled the UAE a few hours after the robbery.