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All that glitters ...

The Sharjah Police have arrested four Asian nationals for selling duplicate gold coins.

The financial crimes section of the criminal investigation department was tipped off about the illegal activity. The suspects claimed to have a large quantity of antique items made of pure gold. They said they found the gold at a historical site in the region.

According to Brigadier Abdullah Mubarak Al Dukhan, Deputy Director of Sharjah Police, as soon as the information was confirmed, a security team was formed to investigate the case. The team managed to trace the suspects and an ambush was organised by which one of the suspects who was acting as a mediator was caught red-handed.

“We found that the fraudsters initially showed pure gold to the customers to entice them. Once they got interested and agreed to buy the gold, the suspects would take the money and offer the duplicate gold.

One of the customers contacted the police when he realised that he had been duped and that he had not received the quantity he had asked for. In an operation, the police asked the customer to call the mediator who in turn asked the buyer to give him extra money if he needed more gold,” Brigadier Dukhan added. A trap was set up with the help of the buyer. He agreed to meet the mediator at a particular spot and the police arrested all the suspects. On investigation it was found that the coins were all painted gold with black spots to prove that they were old.

The suspects confessed to the crime. They have been detained and will be referred to the public prosecution.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com