The photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

Four visitors who broke into a Jumeirah villa and decamped with five precious wristwatches saw their penalty doubled by the Dubai Appeals Court on Wednesday.

The Asians defendant, compatriot colleague, burglar and driver (all in their 40s), scaled the fence to the villa’s yard on the evening of Dec.19, 2018. The burglar hammered the villa’s rear door’s glass to make their way in.

They broke into several rooms and smashed drawers open. Prosecutors charged them with trespassing into the villa, damaging the rear door worth Dhs2,300 and robbing watches worth Dhs60,000. They confessed.

The villa owner – a German manager, 34 – complained to Al Barsha Police Station that he returned from work around 7pm and found all lights off. Meanwhile, he heard the sound of something falling.

He used his phone’s flashlight to check. He noticed it was a piece of glass from the salon’s broken door. He found his wardrobe’s safe and all drawers smashed open and five watches he had placed on a table missing.

The rear sliding door was also broken. They had switched off electricity from the meter box. The Criminal Court imprisoned the quartet for six months plus deportation. The Appeals Court made the term one year. An Emirati lieutenant testified that several houses in various emirates had been targeted the same way during that very period. Police authorities conducted concerted investigations. DNA traces were examined.

A source revealed the wanted men were residing in a villa in Warsan. A police team stormed the villa and arrested the quartet. The defendant narrated that he and others devised a plan to burgle houses in Jumeirah.  

They monitored several villas and their choice fell on that of the manager. He, the colleague and the burglar stepped out of the getaway car and scaled the fence. The driver kept a watch on the streets. The burglar hammered the sliding glass door.

Others gave similar confessions during police questioning. The lieutenant revealed that police recovered the watches.