Photo has been used for illustrative purposes/

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Public Prosecution referred a gang of four Africans and an Asian on visit visas to the Dubai Criminal Court on charges of stealing jewellery estimated at Dhs250,000, Dhs70,000, cheques and private papers from the villa of a Gulf businessman.

The case dates back to last August, when the owner of the villa filed a complaint with the police stating that his residence had been robbed and a safe had disappeared from a room of the villa.

The villa owner stated that following his return from a visit to a neighbouring emirate to offer condolences, he was surprised to see the lights on in his father’s room, noting that he had switched them off before he left and that the room was not used by anybody after his father left the UAE for medical treatment.

He added that the Asian maid he hired after the former African maid left four months ago was not in the villa when the robbery took place. It was found that the thieves broke into the villa after they climbed the outer wall, broke one of the windows, the safe that contained jewellery worth Dhs250,000, Dhs70,000 in cash, a number of signed cheques, and family papers.

A Dubai Police witness stated in the prosecution’s investigations that a team of detectives caught the perpetrators following intensive investigations.

One of the defendants, an African, was arrested while trying to leave the country via Dubai International Airport. On interrogation, he confessed to having robbed a number of houses including the complainant’s villa in connivance with the other perpetrators, adding that all the stolen items were in their possession.

Further investigations revealed that the gang consisted of 5 people, 4 of whom were Africans and belonged to the same nationality of the former African maid, while a fifth member was an Asian worker residing in the state. The court ordered that the defendants be kept in custody pending prosecution.