Two Filipino workers nabbed in Dubai for stealing jewelry

11/16/2007

Two Filipinos were arrested in Dubai after they reportedly attempted to smuggle some 18 kilos of stolen gold jewelry amounting to 6.5 million dirhams, or around P76 million, to the Philippines.

According to the on-line news site Arab News Thursday, the sibling-suspects, a male and a female, were about to board a flight back to Manila when they were caught by police at the Dubai International Airport.

It cited a police statement claiming the brother had stolen the jewelry from his employer for the last four months while working as a salesman in the gold shop.

The report added the male suspect admitted to police he had stolen pieces of jewelry after showing them to customers but after they left the shop, he used to hide some of the jewelery in a drawer.

In a related report by the Khaleej Times, it said the police also arrested at least six other Filipinos and an Arab for buying or receiving gold gifts from the Filipino male suspect.

Police have referred all of them to the Dubai Public Prosecution.

It added the male Filipino stole 18 kg of jewelry and handed

four kilos to his sister for “safekeeping.”

In turn, the sister took out some kilos jewelry from her brother’s bag and tried to flee home with her husband, but they were arrested as well.

The police official at the checking counter grew suspicious and checked the bag of the woman, and found 14 kilos of gold jewelry. The police then arrested the couple.

During interrogation, the woman said the gold belonged to her brother who had asked her to deliver it to their family back home. The brother was then arrested.

The brother said he joined a gold shop in Naif area as a salesman four months ago. After customers left the shop, he used to hide some of the jewelry in a drawer without being detected by his colleagues.

At the end of his shift, he put the jewelry in his bag and took them home where he lived with his sister and her husband.

The brother was surprised when the police told him that they had found 14 kilos of jewelry from his sister’s bag.

He told the police that he gave her only four kilos of jewelry. Jojo Arazas

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