Photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

 A salesman who forged paperwork in a bid to smuggle cigarette packets disguised as ink cartridges attracted a Dhs2.5m fine against his boss, a jury heard on Monday.

The Asian defendant, 31, was working as a sales executive for an electronics company in Dubai. The company dealt in phones and computers and their accessories including importing ink cartridges.

He illicitly imported 858 cartons full of packets of cigarettes. He forged two documents to show that the company dispatched two trucks to the Jebel Ali Port to collect cartons containing printer ink cartridges.

Upon this, he obtained exit permits from the port’s management that were presented to a customs inspector at its gate. He also forged a Power of Attorney (POA) letter attributed to the company owner.

The company’s Pakistani owner had travelled abroad. The inspector suspected the trucks. He and his colleagues searched them and landed on the cigarettes. The Criminal Court hearing continues on Nov.11.

On the record, an Egyptian official said the defendant was in charge of promoting the company’s goods. “Our employer travelled abroad in 2016. I later tasked a clearance firm to renew our trade licence.

“I was astonished to learn that there was a Dhs2.5m fine on the licence for trying to smuggle cigarettes. I went to the Dubai Customs and saw a POA showing the defendant was in charge of the shipment.”

The POA prepared on the company’s letter head had a stamp and a signature attributed to the owner. “We showed it to him and he said he was not the one who issued it to the defendant,” said the official.

Customs officials presented them a document showing a Dhs2,574,000 fine against the company. “He had forged documents showing the shipment belonged to the company, which was not true.”

An Emirati inspector said he stopped both trucks and asked drivers to show necessary documents. “They gave me exit permits showing they were carrying inks. They were cigarettes instead,” he said.

Both drivers argued they were not aware of the contents of the cartons. The documents included the defendant’s ID copy and phone number as the company’s agent in charge of clearing the shipment. The inspector’s Emirati senior said, “I summoned him for questioning. He told me the company manager travelled to the US and granted him powers to represent the company. He presented me a POA letter.