Three Sri Lankans are accused of breaking into a man’s villa while he was on holiday in Belgium with his family and stealing valuables worth Dh1 million.

Dubai Criminal Court was told that only one of the three, a 47-year-old, has been arrested. He was stopped while trying to leave the country through Sharjah International Airport but the other two had already got away with most of the stolen valuables.

In August last year, prosecutors said the trio broke into the villa of the 37-year-old Emirati in Al Muhaisnah 1, using a hammer and crowbar to force open an iron safe in one of the bedrooms where valuables including jewellery, money, watches and expensive pens were stored.

“My mother sent her maid to clean up the house for our return home and the maid found the place in a mess so called my mother, who sent my two brothers to check and then they called police,” said the Emirati homeowner.

An Emirati policeman said the man who was arrested was questioned and confessed that he and the other two had agreed while in Sri Lanka to obtain visit visas to the UAE and then steal valuables from a number of houses before leaving.

“They noticed that no people were in this house, and after keeping it under surveillance for a few days to make sure no one was there, they jumped the wall and broke in,” said the officer.

He added that the suspect said they carried out the burglary at 10pm. In court on Monday morning, the man denied a theft charge. The next hearing will be on November 28.

-The National 
-Agencies