UAE- Gang arrested for duping telecom firm of Dh400,000 

(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) A five-member gang including three men and two women was arrested by the Abu Dhabi police for allegedly taking advantage of the promotional offers of mobile phone service providers to swindle Dh400,000 by transferring credit from the post-paid numbers to prepaid users.

The gangsters managed to get 200 post-paid connections in the name of bogus companies and false persons. They offered the credit of the post-paid numbers for sale via 'balance transfer' option to prepaid mobile users.

According to Brigadier Hamad Ahmed Al Hamadi, Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, the overall credits transferred from such SIM cards billed around Dh400,000.

According to the police, the accused were illegally staying in the country and took up forged trade licences and passport copies with fabricated visa pages to get the post-paid mobile connections.

Al Hamadi pointed out that some trade shops colluded with the gang by selling out the credit of such post-paid connections to pre-paid users who ask for balance transfer.

The case came to light when the Organised Crime Section at the CID of Abu Dhabi Police received authentic report confirming that a gang of Arab nationality took the advantage of the promotional offers of cell phone service providers to trick them.

Colonel Dr Rashid Mohammed Burasheed, head of the Organised Crime Section, said a well-studied plan was chalked out to nab the criminals. Three men and two women were apprehended inside their houses from where the policemen recovered lots of forged papers, the devices used in duplication and forgery in addition to cell phones and some post-paid SIM cards.