Pakistani defendants deny Emirates airline ticket fraud

DUBAI, UAE – Five men denied using false means to buy Emirates airline tickets worth Dh130,000 in court yesterday.

DUBAI, UAE – Five men denied using false means to buy Emirates airline tickets worth Dh130,000 in court yesterday.

Prosecutors accused the five Pakistani defendants, aged between 22 and 47, of using credit cards owned by Australians and Americans to make 43 bookings via the Emirates call centre.

Two of the defendants, A.S. and M.K., used the electronic tickets for return journeys to Karachi.

โ€˜Groundless accusations’

When the defendants appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance they firmly refuted what they described as groundless accusations.

A.S. and M.K. claimed that they were unaware of any problem with the tickets when they defended themselves before Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir Fahmi in courtroom four.

According to the arraignment sheet, prosecutors said the defendants swindled and defrauded Dh130,000 from Emirates after the call centre’s attendants processed the tickets based on false credit card details.

An Iranian safety and security officer at the airline testified that the suspects purchased the tickets using the credit card details of people living outside the UAE.

“The suspects contacted the call centre and booked Dubai-Karachi-Dubai trips,” the Iranian said.

“The defendants alleged that the credit card details [which they used to make their bookings] belonged to them.

“A.S. and M.K. travelled on morning flights and returned the same evening.”

โ€˜Organised group’

“A.S. admitted to me that he travelled more than 20 times and that he worked for one of the suspects [34-year-old M.A.],” an Emirati police major said during prosecution questioning.

“Another suspect confessed that he was part of an organised group of criminals who made bookings using credits card details of people living abroad.”

During prosecution questioning, A.S. was said to have admitted that he and M.K. worked for M.A.

A.S. claimed that they used to take laptop bags belonging to M.A. to Karachi.

The trial continues.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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