The expat who stole a 9.33-carat blue diamond worth $20 million (Dh74 million; Php1 billion) from a Dubai-based company he worked in has been sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by immediate deportation.
The Asian man who worked as a security guard at the company confessed to stealing the diamond with another accomplice, reported Khaleej Times.
In July, the Dubai Police retrieved the diamond in Sri Lanka after it was smuggled out of the UAE in a sports shoe box by the accomplice of the suspect.
The robbery happened on May 25 when the suspect was able to open the vault containing the diamond after successfully breaking through three security gates.
Following the near-impossible robbery, the police reviewed more than 8,600 hours of surveillance camera footages from different places and interviewed more than 120 people who could help with the case.
The developments in the case were closely monitored by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Lt. General H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
The police eventually identified the suspect through artificial technology and was arrested in another emirate.
