A gang has been sentenced to three months in jail for stealing e-cigarettes worth more than Dh80,000 from a parked car in Dubai.

The five men in their 20s broke into a car parked in International City and stole 19 boxes of e-cigarettes and 6,000 dirhams in cash, according to the Dubai Criminal Court.

On March 13, Dubai Police received a report of a car theft in the area. The victim, who works for an e-cigarette trading company, told police he parked his car in front of his home in the Chinese area of the community and woke up in the morning to find his window smashed and 19 boxes worth Dh80,000. The e-cigarette was stolen, along with Dh6,000 in cash from his company.

Dubai Police confirmed the identities of the two vehicles used in the theft through surveillance cameras. The five men were subsequently arrested.

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced the five to three months in prison, followed by deportation.

"The first suspect planned the burglary. With the help of others, the gang watched the victim until the victim got home, and then they smashed the car window to commit the theft," a police officer said.

The defendants, all from Bangladesh, loaded the stolen e-cigarettes into two vehicles and drove to Sharjah.

They would have sold the e-cigarettes for Dh44,000 to a buyer who gave them Dh19,000 as a down payment and promised to pay the rest when he sold the e-cigarettes. The buyer remains at large, police said.

The men were sentenced to three months in prison, followed by deportation. In addition, they were also ordered to pay a fine of 86,000 dirhams (about 158,790 yuan).