People do crazy things in love! Recently, a man from Dubai stole a valuable newborn camel and gifted it to his girlfriend on birthday, but ended up in jail. According to a local National newspaper, the theft was reported by the owners of the baby camel earlier this month, prompting Dubai police to carry out a search of the area. Several days later, an Emirati man called authorities to say a stray camel had wandered onto his farm some 3 kilometers (almost 2 miles) away.

When interrogated, the man’s story fell apart, and it was evident that he had been lying, according to police in Dubai. Upon further questioning, the man confessed that he stole the camel, which belongs to a rare breed and is very expensive, to present as a gift for his girlfriend on her birthday. He admitted to trespassing on his neighbor’s farm to steal the camel, but settled for the newborn after failing to wrangle an adult. The man reported the stray beast when he grew worried about being caught, the paper said.

“We searched for the baby camel but it disappeared and we were unable to find any evidence. After a few days, a man called claiming that he found the camel in front of his farm. His story wasn’t logical as the the two farms were 3 km apart and the newborn camel wouldn’t have been able to walk this distance,” Brig Abdullah Al Mosam, director of Bur Dubai Police Station said.

The police returned the camel to its owners and arrested the suspect and his girlfriend on charges of theft and making a false statement, the UAE paper National reported.

Camel racing remains a cherished pastime in the federation of seven desert sheikhdoms and the occasional camel beauty pageant even draws traders willing to pay millions of dollars for the most prized breeds.