Five face court over Dh1.5m jewellery heist

Five men stole jewellery worth Dh1.5 million from a shop in Dubai International City, Dubai Criminal Court has heard.

On July 12 this year, the masked men entered the shop, armed with knives, and subdued staff with pepper spray before locking them up in the toilet and stealing the jewellery, prosecutors told the court.

Four of the Afghan men, aged between 25 and 35, face armed robbery charges, which they deny, while the fifth remains at large.

“After receiving a report of the incident, investigations led to the first three defendants involved in the heist,” an Emirati policeman said.

“The next day we obtained arrest warrants and raided their flats in Al Ain.”

The officer said that they seized the stolen valuables found in the possession of the four but the fifth man had the rest of it.

Police said that during questioning, the four admitted to planning the heist a week before they carried it out.

“They used to meet in International City after they decided which shop to steal from, then they bought masks, pepper spray, clothes and knives and agreed on a date,” the officer said.

“Three of them said that the 25-year-old second defendant was the mastermind and that he suggested that they carry out the heist, and he allocated roles to each of them.”

The policeman said that the four had admitted to waiting for the employees to arrive and open the shop, before four of them raided the premises and the fifth acted as a lookout.

“They fled in a silver Lexus and headed to Jebel Ali, where they split the valuables and got rid of the clothes, masks and all the other tools they used, after which three of them went to Al Ain where they were arrested the following day,” the policeman said.

The next hearing has been scheduled for October 17.

They fled in a silver Lexus and headed to Jebel Ali, where they split the valuables and got rid of the clothes, masks and all the other tools Policeman