Dubai Police have nabbed the two thieves who broke into a villa in the Al Furjan community on March 9 while the tenants were away on vacation.
Irene Sutton and her husband, Andre Verdier, were enjoying a holiday when their villa was ransacked in the non-gated Quortaj area within the community. An estimated Dh180,000 worth of valuables was reported stolen from their residence during the incident.
Talking to Khaleej Times, Irene expressed her gratitude for the police’s swift action in apprehending the perpetrators. “I am relieved that Dubai Police have arrested these individuals, preventing them from repeating what they did to us. On March 13, we were called to the police headquarters; we saw many stolen things in the evidence haul and could identify some of our belongings. I was relieved to spot my wedding ring, the Omega watch, and other jewellery pieces. We are now waiting for the case to be closed and to get hold of our belongings.
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“The authorities have been exceptionally helpful from the very beginning. When my son reported the burglary, they immediately responded and arrived with the CID and CSI teams. They stationed themselves outside our house the night following the theft, in case the burglars returned—especially since they had taken the spare keys of our car and other belongings. They were back again the following night, keeping a close eye on the situation.”
The 54-year-old Irish expat doesn’t expect to recover everything taken from the house. “All our documents, stored in the two safes they took, are likely destroyed, and we have to figure out a way to reissue all those important papers.”
Irene previously told KT that she was certain they didn’t know the thieves, and as it turns out – they were total strangers who randomly targeted the vacant house.
The CCTV footage from the family and photographs of their valuables played a crucial role in the investigation. Read what happened during the burglary here.
Word of advice
Irene has a word of caution for residents, “No matter where you live, securing your house and belongings is important — install cameras. In this digital age, we can securely store our documents so that even if anything happens to the physical papers, we don’t have to worry about reissuing everything from scratch.
“We have been living in Dubai since 2005, and nothing untoward ever happened, so we finally stopped buying insurance. That was a mistake; we must insure all our valuables,” Irene said, urging residents to be mindful.
How to secure your home
If you plan to jet off to a faraway destination for the upcoming Eid Al Fitr break or the summer holidays, ensure your home is protected while you are having fun.
One guaranteed way to signal to the world that your house is unguarded is by sharing images, posts, and holiday itineraries on social media while travelling. Such information can be used by criminals and burglars, who may take advantage of unoccupied homes.
If you have neighbours you can trust, family members and friends, ask them to check on your property. Residents in the villa communities can inform the security, who can monitor the house.
Dubai residents can avail of Dubai Police’s ‘home security service,’ which enables villa occupants to use patrols deployed in neighbourhoods to monitor their homes while they are away.
Here are some additional tips and strategies to reduce your stress and let you enjoy a worry-free vacation.
- Install surveillance cameras and other security systems with motion sensors
- Always leave some lights switched on
- Ensure doors and windows are securely latched or locked
- Install locks on windows
- Change locks if keys are lost
- Do not leave door keys under the doormats or other places easily accessible to others
- Keep valuables in a secure place; don’t store them all in one place