PRO in Dubai jailed for offering bribe to customs

A Chinese clearance PRO has been sentenced to six months in jail for allegedly offering a Dh4,000 bribe to a customs inspector.
The Court of First Instance on Thursday also ordered that the 27-year-old PRO be deported after completing his jail term.
According to prosecution records, the PRO wanted the inspector to do him an unlawful favour by permitting the exit of a container from the Jebel Ali Port without having the necessary clearance from the customs.
The incident allegedly happened on February 14.
The inspector, holder of a Comoros Islands passport, told the investigating prosecutor that the defendant came to the port at around 6pm on February 12, to clear some goods sent from China for a shipment company.
The inspector said the goods, which included women's hair dryers and shaving devices, were not cleared as the officers detected some counterfeit trade brands among them. There was no indication to the local agent here.
When the PRO was informed about the reason the goods could not be issued clearance, he allegedly offered the inspector Dh4,000 to help him get them through the customs and out of the port.
The inspector then informed his superior that the PRO offered him money to get the goods out of the port and also to refrain from sending samples to the Intellectual Property Rights Department at the Dubai Customs.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers arrested the accused in the parking lot of a shopping centre in Mirdif after paying the bribe and collecting the customs statement on the goods.
The verdict may be appealed within 15 days.
mary@khaleejtimes.com