DUBAI // Three Romanian men have been arrested in connection with the theft of Dh12 million worth of jewellery from a shop in Dubai.
Maj Gen Khamis Al Muzeina, chief of Dubai Police, said that the Lebanese owner of the shop, M A, was held hostage in Paris until he authorised the men to take the merchandise.
“A man, who called himself Christopher, went to the shop in the Nayef area and told the employee, B S, that he was an expert coming to the shop to evaluate some of the merchandise, something that was agreed on with M A,” he said.
“Christopher, who was later identified as F K, went to the shop a few days later and packed 6.5 kilograms of jewellery worth approximately Dh12 million to be picked up later by another suspect.”
Another suspect then called the shop employee to inform him he would be picking up the package, said Gen Al Muzeina.
The employee then called the owner in Paris, who said he had received the money and so the jewellery could be handed over.
Gen Al Muzeina said the owner of the jewellery store was being threatened with a weapon to force him to authorise the transaction. “Once the suspects in the emirate received the merchandise, the men in Paris released the shop owner, who immediately called his employee to tell him to notify the authorities that they had been robbed,” he said.
Maj Gen Khalil Al Massouri, of Dubai Police CID, said F K, M K and F A, were all arrested less than three days after the crime on December 12.
“We tracked down F K, to his residence in JLT, where we seized some of the jewellery,” he said. “He then led us to the second and third suspects, M K and F A. We found the rest of the merchandise at M K’s residence in Dubai Marina.”
The case has been transferred to public prosecution.
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
