Saturday 26 December 2009
possessing 100 fake documents and stamps
Abu Dhabi Police have arrested two Asians suspected of possessing 100 fake documents and stamps. They tried to issue travel visas to European Countries for persons living in their home countries.
The police, in terms of criminal planning method and the fake seized documents, considers this case is the biggest of its kind in the Abu Dhabi Emirate’s history. The operation was called “Forgery Kitchen”.
According to Colonel Maktoum Ali Al Shareefi, Director of CID at Abu Dhabi Police, the main suspect, Asian, 30 years old, identified as M.A.M. tried to issue 7 visas to European Countries for 7 persons of his nationality, living in their home land, by presenting fake documents to the Embassies in UAE. The culprit gets Dh 30, 000 for each transaction.
The suspect had already received the passports of those seven persons by post. There is a third accomplice in their home country. He has forged UAE residency and stamped it on yhe inner pages of their passports. He signed fake work contracts containing high salaries and high caliber jobs. He also forged six-month bank statements from different local banks, in preparation for submission to the concerned Embassies. He appended UAE exit and entry stamps and visa stamps of some European Countries on the passports of those persons to show that they had got visas before. Thus their applications for visa can easily be approved and then get legal visas for entering these countries. After that he they would send the passports back home to their owners.
The seized documents include: 13 Asian passports, 15 exit and entry stamps through some of UAE Airports and foreign countries airports, 6 stamps of some local banks, 50 bank statements from local banks, 11 stamps of 8 local companies in addition to forged trade licenses. When the police stormed their home found 36 credit cards, 31 cheque books, 108 photos, 4 colored photocopies of different passports, 27 ID cards, a number of exchange receipts, computer, cameras, telephone cards etc.
They were caught after a tip from an undercover agent. The main culprit admitted his crime. The Director of CID at ADP asked those concerned to change their official stamps as a precautionary action. He also urged them to change these stamps and their colors from time to time to avoid and manipulation in the future. It would be preferable if they use thermal and secret stamps as they could not be forged.
It is worth mentioning that the Federal Penal Law Number (3/1987) stipulates for forging an official document crimes, a punishment of 3 to 10 years in prison, and for an unofficial document one month to 3 years imprisonment. Forgery or imitation of government stamps entails 3 to 15 years in jail.
