Sharjah police bust credit card ring

Sharjah: Police arrested a four-member gang who withdrew cash from 31 credit cards by conning various banks using forged documents.

A senior official at Sharjah Police said up to Dh30,000 was withdrawn from each credit card, and that most of the money was transferred to a bank account in Pakistan.

According to police, three of the suspects worked at a private company in Al Hamariya Free Zone. The three men, all Pakistani nationals, forged a company contract stating that the company was hiring a new employee.

Once the suspect's accomplice arrived from Pakistan, the gang opened a bank account at a number of banks and provided forged documents, such as bank statements and passports.

The gang's accomplice then applied for several credit cards from each bank and then withdrew all the money from the credit cards with the help of the fourth member of the gang.

The fourth suspect owned a flooring shop that specialised in fixing ceramic tiles. Police said the man would forge a receipt and swiped the credit card for a large quantity of money. He would then take out the quantity in cash from the flooring company.

Once the cash was in the hands of the gang, the money was then distributed evenly among the three members who sent their share to bank accounts in Pakistan, and a smaller portion was handed over to the shop owner and their accomplice in Pakistan.

Police suspect the gang carried out the crime for at least three months, although the total amount of money stolen could not be confirmed.