Four jailed for possessing millions of fake rupees in Dubai

Two of the Pakistanis confessed to having the notes but they said they didn't know they were counterfeit, while the other two had denied all knowledge.

DUBAI // Four men who tried to exchange more than four million fake Indian rupee notes for UAE dirhams have been sentenced to a year in jail and fined Dh50,000 each.

Pakistanis M M, 42, and S A, 33, confessed to possessing the notes at Dubai Criminal Court last September but told judges: “We had no idea that they were fake.”

Their countrymen, M Z M, 48, and A E, 30, denied all involvement in the case. “We have absolutely nothing to do with the fake notes,” the pair told the court.

All four were convicted of possessing 4.73 million Indian rupees (Dh277,215) with the intent to sell.

Emirati police lieutenant M A, 25, said a police source posed as a buyer after officers received a tip-off about the defendants.

“The source met with them and they all agreed on the sale process and price,” said the lieutenant.

“Three of the defendants were arrested when they met with the source to deliver the money. They had the notes stashed in a carton box.”

The officer said the trio told policemen they got the notes from the fourth defendant, who was then arrested at a hotel the same day.

They will all be deported after serving their terms.