SHARJAH// A man was arrested at the weekend on suspicion of attempting to steal from a jewellers in his second raid on the store in two years, according to shop assistants.
Police said a Pakistani man entered the store at about 7pm on Saturday posing as a buyer before he grabbed a box of gold display items and made a dash for the exit.
Shop assistants said they triggered their alarm system, which locked the man in at Al Chennai Jewellers in the Rolla area and sent an alert to police headquarters.
"We have an in-built security system that locks the door with the push button in case someone tries to escape," said a shop attendant, who requested anonymity. "We also have several security cameras and an alarm system that is linked to the police.
"My friend called police to confirm they knew about the robbery in our shop and they said officers were already on the way.
"By then, the fugitive had given up fighting and started pleading for forgiveness."
Police arrived at the scene within minutes and arrested the suspect. A police spokesman said they were still investigating a claim by shop assistants that the same thief was behind a similar theft two years ago.
The shop attendant said they had boosted security after the first incident and said that pictures captured by surveillance cameras would prove he was the same man who robbed them in 2009.
Al Chennai's neighbouring jewellery store, Masoom Jewellery, was also the target of theft in November, when 63 gold rings worth Dh70,000 were stolen in a similar fashion. Police are still hunting the thieves.
