Sharjah: Sharjah Police have foiled the illegal sale of a large number of fake antique gold coins.
“The Criminal Investigations Department recently arrested two Pakistani men implicated in an attempt to sell fake gold antique coins.
“They deceived their victim claiming they found these antique coins while they were working at an ancient site in a neighbouring country and found them by chance,” an official at Sharjah Police said.
Sharjah Police obtained information from Dubai Police that two Pakistani suspects had put fake golden coins up for sale, Colonel Jihad Saeed Sahoo, director of the Criminal Investigation Department at Sharjah Police, said.
Sharjah Police formed a team who gathered information on the suspects and located their residence.
“The suspects were arrested red-handed at the time of a delivery in Sharjah, after the buyer — a member of the undercover operation — agreed with the main suspect to purchase the coins.
“The suspect put the fake coins, which were painted black, in a bag.
“Each coin was on sale for a large amount of money,” an Sharjah Police official told Gulf News.
The suspects duped victims by showing them an original golden coin and convincing them that all the coins in the bag were the same.
Police have tested the coins and found them to be fake.
Colonel Sahoo said the UAE was committed to international conventions banning the trade and smuggling of antiquities and cultural property.
He encouraged the public to report similar incidents by calling 999 or the toll free number Najeed 800151.
