DUBAI // Police have recorded more than 130 cases of fraud – at a cost to the emirate’s economy of more than Dh609 million – in the first five months of this year.

The Dubai Police department of anti-economic crimes said yesterday that there were 133 cases, comprising money-doubling scams, credit card fraud, use of counterfeit money and forged cheques.

The director of the department, Col Abdullah Rashid, said police had made 180 arrests for fraud in the first five months.

But fraud incidence was much greater because the figures did not include crimes carried out online.

“Generally, there has been a decrease in the number of economic crimes,” Col Rashid said.

“Nowadays many criminals use computers and the internet, which falls under the cyber-crime department.”

Seventy-four of the crimes were related to commercial fraud, piracy and intellectual property theft, amounting to more than Dh8.4m and leading to the arrest of 110 people.

There were 35 cases of scams, that totalled more than Dh32.4m and led to the arrest of 42 people.

The other 24 involved forged money and fake cheques worth more than Dh568m, in relation to which 28 suspects had been arrested.

Col Rashid said police had also caught two African men who were trying to sell fake gold nuggets.

“In June we got a tip from a source that there were men who were trying to sell raw gold nuggets for Dh6m,” he said.

Undercover officers posed as interested buyers for the small pebbles dipped in gold the two were trying to sell, Col Rashid said.

“The officers met the first suspect at a shopping mall, where he showed them the alleged raw gold nuggets,” he said.

The officers haggled over the price and then agreed to meet at a hotel for the final transaction.

He said police arrested the pair at the hotel in Dubai and their case was sent to prosecutors.

Maj Gen Khalil Al Mansouri, assistant to the chief of CID, said police put great importance on battling economic crimes.

dmoukhallati@thenational.ae