Gold theft from Damas store prompts security warning to malls

Gang broke into the Damas jewellery store in Sharjah's Lulu Centre in the early hours of Monday morning.

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SHARJAH// Four men, two of them taxi drivers, have been arrested by police investigating the theft of Dh2 million in gold from a jewellery shop.

"We arrested them less than 48 hours after the crime," said Col Abdullah Mubarak Al Dukhan, deputy director of Sharjah Police. "The quick arrests foiled their plan to flee the country with the stolen gold."

Police say the men, all Pakistani, broke into the Damas jewellery shop at the LuLu Centre in Sharjah at about 3am on Monday.

Two of the suspected thieves were arrested in Ajman.

The other man arrested had some of the stolen gold in his home.

The two taxi drivers were detained in the Satwa area of Dubai. Police say some of the gold was found in their cars and at a house in Al Nahda.

"They told police they had split the gold among themselves to enable them to smuggle it out of the country," Col Al Dukhan said.

The shop's glass facade made it simple for the thieves to enter and the centre did not have surveillance cameras that would have easily identified them, police say.

"There were no security guards at the centre and only the front doors were metallic," said Col Al Dukhan.

"Shopping malls, especially those with expensive jewellery stores, should ensure all safety systems are in place."

The four men have been referred to public prosecution.