Asian gang jailed for stealing electronic cigarettes worth Dhs80,000

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced a gang of five Asian men to 3 months in prison each and fined them jointly Dhs86,000 for stealing 19 boxes of electronic cigarettes, in addition to Dhs6,000 from a vehicle belonging to an Asian driver.

The convicts would be deported after serving the sentences, the Court ruled. The incident dates back to last March, when an Asian driver filed a report stating that a vehicle owned by the company he worked for had been robbed in one of the streets of the International City in Dubai.

The driver told the Public Prosecution that he had parked the vehicle near his house, as it was containing 23 electronic cigarette boxes and Dhs6,000. When the driver returned the next day, he saw the rear window of the vehicle was broken, and the contents had been stolen, except four electronic cigarette boxes. The stolen boxes valued at Dhs80,000, the driver said.

The cop in charge of the case’s investigations testified that a CID team was able to identify the suspects and arrest them. On questioning them, they confessed to the theft, admitting that they had transported the stolen items by two vehicles belonging to one of them, the cop added.

The suspects offered the stolen items for sale to a countryman in another emirate, who agreed to buy them for Dhs44,000. He paid them Dhs19,000 and the rest to be paid after selling the electronic cigarettes in his store. The Court found them all guilty, so they were sentenced to the aforementioned penalty.