Five men in dock for forging UAE residency visas, official seals

Dubai - "One of our secret sources tipped us off that the defendants were forging documents."

Five Asian men stood trial at a Dubai court for their alleged involvement in the forgery of government seals and residency visas.
 
The defendants - three Pakistanis and two Indians aged between 24 and 53 - forged seals of the DP World, Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, entry and exit seals of the Dubai and Sharjah International Airports, Dubai Healthcare Authority, Dubai Municipality and logo of the Emirates Identity Authority.
 
They also forged passports, a large number of residency visas and statements of accounts, which they falsely claimed were issued by banks in the UAE.
 
The case dates back to February 15 when the Dubai Police received reliable information that the accused were forging documents and official seals for money.
 
"One of our secret sources tipped us off that the defendants were forging documents. After verifying the information to be true and locating their whereabouts we had an arrest and search warrant issued from the public prosecution," a police officer said.
 
"We raided their place and seized the tools and software they used in their operations. When we confronted them with the charges and the seized items, they confessed to the crime for different amounts of money depending on the papers to be forged. We took them into custody."
 
Some of the defendants had already been convicted and ordered deported on immigration-related offences. They received a one month jail term and slapped a Dh1,000 fine each on charges of working on visit visa, overstaying, and working illegally.
 
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai