Saed News: A theft from the home of a young businessman in northern Tehran took on new dimensions after it was revealed that gold and dollars worth more than 30 billion tomans had also disappeared; a clue that ultimately led investigators to the family’s maid.
According to SAEDNEWS, citing Hamshahri Online, a few days ago, one of the residents of a luxury building in northern Tehran noticed that the door of his neighbor’s apartment was open while leaving for work. Assuming that the homeowner, a young businessman named Hamid, and his family were inside, he did not take the matter seriously. However, upon returning home, he encountered the same scene again. His repeated calls to the homeowner went unanswered, and the building caretaker stated that the family had gone on a trip. This raised the neighbor’s suspicions, prompting him to notify the police.
After arriving at the scene, officers contacted the homeowner. Hamid confirmed that he was traveling, but after learning that the house door was open, he cut his trip short and returned to Tehran. Initial police investigations revealed that the house had been ransacked and some valuable items, including decorative carpet tapestries, had been stolen.
While the businessman initially believed that the main part of his assets was safe, he was shocked when he opened a suitcase in which he had hidden a bag containing gold and dollars before leaving on his trip; the bag was empty. According to him, the value of the gold and foreign currency exceeded 30 billion tomans. Hamid insisted that he had personally placed the bag inside the suitcase before traveling and had not touched it since.
Security camera footage from the building showed two men entering the house with their faces covered and carrying out the theft. During the investigation, Hamid told police that the only person who regularly had access to the house was the family’s maid, a woman named Mahvash. She had been introduced by one of the family’s relatives several years earlier and, in addition to housework, also cared for the family’s two children. He added that before the trip, they had ended her employment because the duration of their travel was uncertain.
With this information, police attempted to contact Mahvash, but her mobile phone was switched off. This increased officers’ suspicions, and by order of the prosecutor from the special theft branch, she was arrested. Investigations showed that Mahvash had been in contact with a man named Hooman, who had disappeared since the time of the robbery. Messages exchanged between the two contained coded phrases that detectives eventually managed to decipher.
Eventually, the young maid confessed and stated that she herself had first removed the bag containing the gold and dollars from the suitcase and hidden it inside a clothes closet. She claimed that afterward, in order to stage the burglary, she informed Hooman about the matter, and he entered the house along with two other accomplices.
According to Mahvash, she had provided them with the key, and two of the accomplices entered the house with their faces covered and stole valuable belongings, while the third person waited in the car. Their mistake in leaving the front door open caused the incident to be exposed sooner than expected.
Mahvash also claimed that after the theft, Hooman and his accomplices took all the stolen property, including the gold and dollars, and cut off contact with her. Based on her guidance, police arrested Hooman and his two accomplices as well, and part of the stolen property was discovered in their hideout.
The recovered property has been returned to the homeowner, and further investigations into different aspects of the case are still ongoing.
