Duo arrested on suspicion of forging visa documents

Abu Dhabi: Police arrested two men suspected of possessing over 100 forged documents and seals used to get travel documents for Europe issued.

In an operation that is believed to have pulled the plug on one of the most elaborate visa rackets in the emirate, Abu Dhabi Police arrested two Asian men for the sale of travel documents obtained through forgery to their compatriots back home.

Colonel Maktoum Ali Al Sharifi, director of the Abu Dhabi Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said the 30-year-old main suspect, identified as M.A., was planning to apply for seven visas from European embassies in the UAE, putting a price of Dh30,000 on each travel document delivered.

The duo would get in touch with a third suspect in their home country to forge UAE residency visas on passports, besides creating false employment contracts and bank accounts in the UAE for people seeking to travel to Europe.

The main suspect in the UAE would allegedly receive seven passports by post and forge Emirati residency visas in them. He would also create false bank statements for six months to be submitted to European embassies in the UAE as a requirement for European visas.

Crack team formed

The suspects allegedly planned to get the European visas and send them back along with the passports to their clients back home in return for Dh30,000 each.

Lieutenant Colonel Dr Rashid Mohammad Bu Rasheed, head of the Criminal Investigation Department's Organised Crime Section, said a specialised police team was formed to arrest the suspects after receiving a tip-off that two Asian men were trying to get travel visas issued from European embassies using forged documents,

Police raided the residence of the two suspects which was like a "forgery kitchen", said Dr Bu Rasheed.

Police found 13 Asian passports, 15 visas, entry and exit stamps from some UAE airports, six bank stamps, 11 stamps belonging to eight local used-car companies and 50 bank accounts in addition to forged commercial licences.

Police also seized 36 credit cards, 31 chequebooks, 108 personal photos, four coloured copies of passports, and 27 official identity cards, besides a large number of deposit receipts, computers, cameras and other tools used for forgery.

The main suspect confessed to the crime, while another suspect, identified as N.A., 29, denied charges of forgery.

Col Al Sharifi called on authorities concerned to see to it that official stamps and seals were changed frequently to preempt any forgeries in future.

According to Penal Code No.3 of 1987, anyone found guilty of forging an official document will face a jail term ranging between three and 10 years. Anyone found guilty of forging an unofficial document will face a jail term ranging from one month to three years. Those guilty of forging seals and stamps of official and government departments will be sentenced to between three and 15 years in jail.