A lineup of the suspects.

The Sharjah Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested a gang of 12 Asians who specialised in selling and distributing adulterated gold artefacts as original pieces. The gold used to be sold at relatively distant dates to avoid any suspicion that it was an organised process.

According to Colonel Omar Ahmed Abu Al Zoud, Director of Criminal Investigation Department at Sharjah Police, a number of complaints were received where the complainants stated that they had been defrauded by anonymous Asians.

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The perpetrators used initially to offer for sale mobile phones at low prices to people visiting stores, he said, adding that they later offered them samples of original golden pieces with Islamic inscriptions on them that were not available in the local market. The golden samples were offered at appropriate prices to persuade victims to buy them as an opportunity that should not be missed, he said.

To coax the victims into concluding the deal, the perpetrators used to ask them to examine the gold samples at gold stores to ensure they were authentic, he added. No sooner was the quantity agreed on, the artefacts sold to them and the agreed on amount paid than the victims discovered that the gold pieces they had bought were only ornamented gold-coated metal pieces and that they had fallen victims to fraud, he said.

Following intensive investigations, the CID agents arrested the gang members one after the other. They all confessed to being involved in the fraud through monitoring victims, bargaining, holding communications with people outside the UAE to send the gold-coated pieces and selling the pieces and dividing the money among them. The defendants were referred to the public prosecution so that the legal measures would be taken against them.

Abu Al Zoud called on the public to avoid dealing with anonymous unlicensed people in order not to fall victim to their murky schemes, stressing the necessity for them to report street vendors to the channels provided by the police including the ‘Guard’ service on Sharjah Police’s smart app, Sharjah Police’s website www.shjpolice.gov.ae or the hotline 80040.