Gang busted in Dh3m jewellery heist
DUBAI POLICE ARREST ARMED ROBBERS WITHIN 48 HOURS OF THE CRIME
Dubai Police arrest robbers 48 hours after the gold ornaments were stolen from a shop in International City |
Quick-footed police have recovered Dh3 million in gold stolen by masked thugs in a daring armed robbery at an International City gold shop last Wednesday.
Uniformed police raided the thieves’ hideout within 48 hours of the robbery, thwarting the group’s plans to flee the country, said Dubai’s top cop on Sunday.
Three suspects were busted in the raid in Al Ain, while the other two were arrested in the Al Ruwais area.
Major-General Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, praised his officers’ work to apprehend the gang in a short time despite the fact that the robbers were masked.
“Just 48 hours after receiving the emergency call, the gang members were arrested and the jewellery recovered despite the fact they were masked and no evidence was left behind. It was a great effort by our officers,” Maj-Gen Al Merri said.
Major-General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs, said the robbery happened in International City at 10am on Wednesday when masked men, brandishing at least one large butcher knife as shown on closed security cameras, smashed their way into the jewellery shop. The attackers unleashed pepper spray on employees before locking them in a bathroom and fled with the stolen goods.
“They were professional in their criminal style and they fled to unknown areas in the country. They were masked and you can know they studied the place well before committing the robbery,” Maj-Gen Al Mansouri said.
Dubai Police were alerted and teams enacted a plan to arrest the gang and recover the jewellery.
“We identified their places and arrested three of them who were hiding in a place on the borders in Al Ain. At the same time we arrested the other two in Al Ruwais area in Abu Dhabi and recovered the jewellery,” Maj-Gen Al Mansouri added.
Meanwhile, Dubai Police asked large-scale jewellery shops to be extra vigilant and to bolster their security.
“The jewellery in the shop was worth more than Dh60 million and the security procedures weren’t enough to secure the shop. We can prevent such crimes by having extra security measures in shops containing big amount of jewellery,” MajGen Al Merri said.
They were professional …They were masked and you can know they studied the place well before committing the robbery.” Maj-Gen Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri | Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police