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Dubai: The trial of a customs sergeant, charged with accepting bribes to bypass iris scanning while processing 40 outpasses for illegal immigrants, started just two days after the amnesty expired.
The 27-year-old Emirati suspect, H.A., denied before the Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday that he collected Dh8,000 in bribes from his compatriot suspect and three Indian men to process the outpasses.
The Public Prosecution charged H.A. with accepting bribes and issuing the passes without summoning the illegal immigrants to the counter and therefore enabling them to skip the iris scan.
His 25-year-old compatriot employee, B.A., along with the three Indians, 38-year-old unemployed, B.T., 42-year-old, an assistant welder. T.K., and 47-year-old public relations officer, P.P., were charged with negotiating with the sergeant to issue the passes to others. B.T. was also charged with staying here illegally.
Sting operation
The five suspects pleaded innocent before presiding judge Fahmi Mounir.
During the public prosecution questioning the Indians claimed they were beaten and forced to confess that they had processed several outpasses.
An Emirati first sergeant, M.M., said in his statement to the public prosecution: "We received information that the suspects were collecting Dh400 to Dh500 for issuing outpasses to illegal immigrants."
B.A. was arrested in a sting operation, said the witness.
"The 25-year-old collected the travel documents of amnesty seekers from the consulates before handing them to H.A.
"The latter's job was to issue the outpasses without sending for the illegal immigrants and keeping them away from the iris scan which prevents them from returning to the country. B.A. used to keep money for H.A. in a grocery shop in Deira," said the first sergeant.
M.M. said he was not among the police team which arrested the Indians.
"However, I met one of the Indians in Deira, gave him Dh2,000 [police money] and cooperated with him to arrest B.A. in a sting operation.
"The latter threw the money on the ground and claimed that it wasn't his before he confessed later. B.A. assisted us in arresting H.A.," M.M. said.
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