Dubai Spy gadgets are being sold in the UAE at affordable prices despite a ban on them, a Gulf News investigation reveals.
Banned gadgets include laser pens, radar jammers and bug audio devices. Violations carry a prison term, followed by deportation for expatriates. Despite this, shops are openly selling the gadgets and trade in these products is booming. Police warn that any person misusing communication devices can be held for a criminal offence. A gang was arrested from Dragon Mart on Wednesday for selling these devices.
A salesman at a shop in Dragon Mart, Dubai, said the latest equipment in the ‘grey gadget market’ in the UAE includes GSM bugs, which have been around for four years on the international market. The gadget is a new concept in the spying world.
A Gulf News investigation reveals these GSM bugs, also known as Infinity Transmitters and Spy Phone Bugs, are also available in China Mall in Ajman and in Sharjah.
The salesman, who did not want his name mentioned, said the devices are brought here mainly from China and Taiwan, but he did not divulge how they are smuggled. Gulf News discovered that many of these of gadgets can be classified as illegal and was able to purchase a bugging audio device for Dh400. Some of the audio devices are sold for as low as Dh120 to Dh160 a piece, compared to a smaller gadget that is Dh400.
“It is small and can be placed almost anywhere discreetly and it is ideal for room or in vehicle monitoring,” he said.
Gulf News was able to get this device at different shops in Dragon Mart and Ajman’s China Mall. To a query, on a ‘small black recording device’, the salesman confirms that it is in stock.
The same scenario replayed in most shops. The salesman would call another person waiting outside the shop, saying one would have to wait a while until the device arrived. A few minutes later, the deal is done away from public eye.
Briadier Khalil Al Mansouri, Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), told Gulf New that any kind of audio spy device is illegal to sell and to own. Hidden security devices such as cameras are also prohibited. “All those sell, possess or bring such devices into the country will face jail and fine,” he said.
Last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) warned distributors at Dragon Mart against selling unauthorised telecom products. The TRA said hidden spy gadgets, including cameras, are not allowed in the UAE. It warned that such sensitive products need prior permission of Dubai Police and the TRA.
The crackdown of TRA covers illegal trading in wireless products, which can be misused and jeopardise public safety, and other illegal hardware that use random bandwidth. Traders and suppliers would be punished if telecommunications equipment is sold without pre-authorisation by the TRA.
