Dubai, February 02: The Dubai Customs has recently foiled a bid to smuggle in fake $100 notes of $804,000 (Dh2.9 million) at the Dubai International Airport.
Ali Al Mugahwi, Director of the Passengers Operations Department, said on Tuesday that the counterfeit notes were found from a European tourist last Wednesday.
“The suspect, who was arrested at Terminal 3, came to the country on a tourist visa and his passport showed he was a businessman.”
Mugahwi said it was the Dubai Customs’ advanced, intensive and regular training courses on body language interpretation that led to the capture of the suspect. “The suspect looked confused and tense while heading to the inspection area after he got his passport stamped.”
The suspect was monitored closely until he arrived at the inspection area where he was told to put his two bags for checking. The suspect tried to mislead the inspectors by putting only one of the bags, and when he was asked to open the other one he became even more tense and anxious.
“The inspectors found bundles of bank notes consisting of 8,040 fake $100 notes as well as 2,300 notes ready for counterfeiting,” he said. During investigations, the passenger claimed that unidentified persons in a European country asked him to carry the bag to one of the hotels in Dubai where he had to wait for someone who would come later to take the bag.
“The suspect, who is visiting Dubai for the first time, along with the seized money, was referred to the Dubai Police for further investigation and prosecution.”
Al Mugahwi then said that smuggling counterfeited money is a crime that is punishable and prosecutable worldwide. “Such a crime has a bad impact on economy and business especially in Dubai, which is one of the most interesting and important tourist and economic destinations targeted by millions of visitors and tourists every year.”
He said the Dubai Customs in November 2010, foiled two separate bids to smuggle fake traveller cheques, valued at Dh2 million and Dh12 million, at the Dubai International Airport and Dubai Cargo Village respectively.
Al Mugahwi said that the Dubai Customs also busted 172 attempts of passengers from 22 nationalities to smuggle forged credit cards into Dubai last year. “Of these 50 were valued at over Dh1.5 million.”
–Agencies