Five men stole jewellery valued at more than Dh1m from a shop in Dubai International City, Dubai Criminal Court was told on Tuesday.
On July 12, the masked men allegedly entered the shop armed with knives and sprayed the shop workers with pepper spray before locking them all up in the shop's toilet and stealing the jewellery.
Four of the Afghani men, aged between 25 and 35, were charged with armed robbery which they denied in court. The fifth man remains at large.
Investigations led police to the first three defendants, an Emirati first lieutenant said.
"The following day, we obtained arrest warrants and raided their flats in Al Ain," said 21-year-old officer said.
Police seized the stolen valuables found in the possession of the four men but the rest of the jewellery remains with the fifth member of the gang who remains at large,
During police questioning, the accused allegedly admitted to planning the heist a week before.
The men would meet in International City and after deciding which shop to steal from they bought masks, pepper spray and knives, the officer said.
"Three of them said the 25-year-old second defendant was the master mind and distributed the roles among them," the officer said.
The defendants said they waited for employees to arrive on the morning of the robbery before four of the members raided the shop and the fifth acted as a look out.
"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," said the policeman.
The next hearing will be held on October 17.
