Pair jailed over Dubai licence plate thefts

Pakistanis said they intended to use stolen plates when stealing a motorbike and when stealing tyres.

DUBAI // Two men who stole licence plates to put on their vehicle as part of a plot to steal a motorbike were sentenced to three months in jail each.

The Pakistanis, aged 27 and 28, were arrested on December 19 last year when their vehicle was stopped by police and officers spotted two different stolen plates on the back seat.

“While questioning the driver, he confessed that he and his accomplice used a screwdriver to steal the plates and said that they wanted to avoid being identified through their car’s plate number, which they wanted to use in a motorbike theft,” testified a 46-year-old Sudanese policeman.

The officer said he questioned the other defendant, who told him that he stole the second set of plates to use whenever he was carrying out tyre thefts.

“They confessed willingly, both of them,” said the officer.

Prosecutors said that the men’s finger prints matched the ones found on the screwdriver and the stolen plates.

Both men denied theft charges at Dubai Criminal Court but they were both found guilty and will be deported after serving their prison sentences.