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One jailed for selling counterfeit dollars

DUBAI - A man who claimed he had no idea the US dollar bills in his possession were fake, even though he was selling them below the market rate to a police informant and undercover policeman, has been sentenced by the Dubai Court of First Instance to two years in prison, fined Dh10,000 and ordered deported from the country after serving his prison term.

The accused, S.K.S., a 38-year-old Iranian national, said he got $12,000, in what turned out to be counterfeit bank notes, from M.H.I., a 35-year-old Iranian national, who was also charged in the same case. On July 12, M.H.I. called S.K.S. and asked to meet him at a cafeteria in the Naif area.

When S.K.S. arrived at the cafeteria, he saw M.H.I. with another man, named Rida, who he later came to know, was the individual who had smuggled the forged dollars into the country. The two men asked S.K.S. if he could sell the $12,000 for them in the market for Dh20,000, and offered him five per cent of the money as a reward if he got succeeded. S.K.S. agreed.

Asked by prosecutors why he agreed to sell the dollars, which in the open market would have fetched Dh43,000, for only Dh20,000 and whether he suspected the dollar notes to be counterfeit at any point, the accused said that he did not suspect the money to be fake. He said he agreed to sell the dollars because they belonged to M.H.I. adding that he was just the middle-man in the deal and he was guaranteed five per cent of the money if he succeeded.

The accused was arrested as he was trying to sell $12,000 in fake currency to a police informant, H.A., in a police sting operation.

The court found M.H.I., not guilty of all charges and he was released from custody.

THE court also sentenced K.H.M., a 29-year-old Iranian national, to life in prison for possession and trafficking in narcotic substances with the intention to sell drugs, as well as for abuse of narcotic substances. The accused was caught during a police sting operation trying to sell 90 grammes of opium to an undercover cop and police informant for Dh2,600.

THE court also sentenced A.K.S., a 26-year-old Pakistani national, to six months in prison for theft and assault resulting in bodily harm. The accused snatched a wallet from an Iranian man who had taken out his wallet to pay the bill at a cafeteria. The victim tried to resist and get his wallet back, but the accused threatened the victim by wielding a knife.

Another man, who was working with the accused, intervened at that point which allowed the defendant enough time to escape with $2,600 and Dh385 that were inside the wallet. The incident was reported to police on September 2 this year. They arrested the accused on September 4 after they discovered his identity and his whereabouts.

IN A similar case, a 41-year-old Bulgarian national, Y.O.I., was sentenced to one year in prison for attempted theft and assault resulting in bodily harm. The accused snatched a mobile phone worth Dh590 from a Jordanian national and fled, hotly pursued by the victim and two of his companions.

At this point the accused stopped and waved a knife to frighten the victim. He stabbed the victim and tried to escape. In the meantime, a policeman saw the incident and managed to subdue the accused with the help of an off-duty policeman who was passing by that time. The victim survived the knife attack and was taken to hospital for treatment.