Sharjah: The Criminal Investigation Department at Sharjah Police has arrested five men suspected of printing fake UAE visas at a studio in Dubai, officials said on Sunday.
Security officials in the Eastern Region say they were tipped off about some Pakistanis who were helping people enter the UAE illegally by forging visas. The suspects were identified as W.K.K., T.A.Z., K.W., A.A. and Sh.M.
Police said the suspects were forging visas and selling them to people outside the country.
The suspects were caught after an undercover officer managed to get acquainted with a member of the gang, soliciting his help to get an illegal document. The agent was asked to pay between Dh1,000 and Dh1,500 for each visa, the police said.
Police seized the equipment used for forging documents, including a set of tools used in the falsification of official documents and seals belonging to government departments.
On checking the forged visas recovered from the suspects, the police found that some visas were issued to people of different nationalities while some others were completely forged and carried a non-existent unified number.
One suspect was based in Dubai and was using his studio to print the fake documents. He was arrested in cooperation with Dubai Police.
The suspects have been referred to the Public Prosecution to face charges of forgery.
Colonel Mohammad Abdullah Al Obed, Director of the Eastern Region Police, warned members of the community against dealing with such people and to report them to police immediately.
“While Sharjah is committed to raising its image as the commercial hub of the region, we have a responsibility to ensure that the law is being followed,” he said.
“We have hi-tech systems that can detect any fake document and bring to justice all those who try to take advantage of our open system. The fake visas were recognisable because of their colour, their inferior paper quality and the absence of security features,” he added.
