Picture for illustrative purposes only. ARCHIVE

Three Arab tourists were sentenced to one month in prison for attempting to enter Europe through Dubai Airport with two forged Schengen visas. When a civil aviation employee discovered the forgery and arrested the two suspects, along with a third person who assisted them in carrying out the crime, they were all referred to the Public Prosecution, who referred them to the Criminal Court. According to the first accused in the investigation, he was on his way out of the country via Dubai airport when an employee stopped him to check his passport and informed him that the visa on the passport was forged. The two travelers denied knowing anything about the visa fraud. They claimed that they each paid the equivalent of Dh25,000 in their respective currencies to obtain the two visas from an unknown person who convinced them to come to the UAE, transfer power of attorney to him so that he could make the visas, and then travel to Europe. He stated that he had already arrived in the UAE and was met by the third accused in the case. He drove the traveler to a hotel and took his passport. He returned the passport and visa one day before the scheduled departure date. The second defendant made similar statements in the case. The third defendant stated that he came to the state on a visit visa and received a call from one of his friends asking him to accept the first and second defendants, rent a hotel for them, and receive an envelope from them containing their passports and hand it over to an unknown person. He denied any knowledge of forgery. The investigations of the Public Prosecution confirmed that all three defendants took part in the fabrication of an unofficial document resembling a Schengen visa and attempted to use it to leave the country. They will be deported once they have served their sentences. BKM/ Expat Media
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