Dubai Customs foil bid to smuggle 12 fake passports

A senior official said the fake travel documents were recovered from a passenger coming from an Asian country. The Dubai Customs recently foiled a bid to smuggle 12 counterfeit European passports at the Dubai International Airport, Terminal 3.

A senior official said the fake travel documents were recovered from a passenger coming from an Asian country.

Ali Al Mugahwi, Director of Airport Operations Department at Dubai Customs, on Wednesday said the Asian passenger was held when he stepped into the customs inspection area.

“The customs inspectors suspected the passenger when he anxiously denied having anything to declare, and showed signs of worry while talking to the officers in charge.”

The inspector, searching the passenger’s baggage, found the fake passports which the suspect was supposed to deliver to someone in the UAE.

“The man admitted that he was supposed to get $6,000 against the 12 fake passports — $500 each — and these were planned to be used for illegal activities here in the UAE.”

The investigators of the Passenger Investigation Office at the Airport Operations Department found out that the passports were fake and the passenger. The passenger, seized passports, seizure report and the information collected during the investigation were handed over to the General Department of Airport Security at Terminal 3 for further action.

Al Mugahwi said smugglers often follow easy means to make quick cash, and try their best to fool the customs officers using deceitful methods, but the alertness of the inspectors helps in thwarting such attempts.

These competent officers have developed remarkable skills in the art of intuition, allowing them to monitor the movements of passengers arriving at the airport and meticulously detect any suspicious cases.

Few days back, the Dubai Customs thwarted separate attempts to smuggle 28 counterfeit documents, including 25 visas, and three passports, also at the Dubai International Airport, Terminal 3.

Source: khaleejtimes