Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Anti-Narcotics Directorate of the Criminal Security Sector at Abu Dhabi Police has warned the public against opening bank accounts in their names and authorising strangers to administer them by withdrawing or transferring money from the account to other accounts inside or outside the country, which may hold them legally accountable in drug trafficking cases.

The directorate indicated that a number of people fell victim to drug traffickers who exploited them for opening bank accounts and giving them the impression that these accounts were being used to transfer their profits in normal commercial operations.

However, with the lapse of time and following intensive investigations, it became evident that these strangers used these accounts to transfer the money generated from illicit drug trafficking without the knowledge of the real account holders.

As more measures are taken to tighten the screws on their suspicious activities, drug traffickers are trying to find safe ways to collect money from the sale of drugs by using the account opened by the victim and managed by another authorised person in order to receive money dedicated for buying narcotics, the directorate said.
This may result in the account holder facing drug trafficking and money laundering charges.