DUBAI // Six men forged 263 applications for Etisalat smartphone packages and used the devices run up bills of more than Dh2.5 million, a Dubai court was told.
The Dubai Criminal Court heard that Pakistanis RN, 29, SN, 29, and FA, 28, along with AT, RR, and OA, whose ages were not given, worked as sales representatives at two marketing companies hired by Etisalat to promote smartphone packages on February 17 this year and prior to this date.
Emirati auditor KM, 34, testified that Etisalat began receiving complaints from customers about high bills for numbers that were not theirs.
“We started an investigation and found out that the defendants met with customers, took their information, then forged applications by adding signatures and attaching forged salary certificates before submitting the application (s) to Etisalat, which based on the applications, handed smartphones to the defendants after activating the phone lines.
“The six men embezzled the devices and used them to make calls and make phone credit transfers and by that caused Dh2,567 million loses,” said KM.
Pakistani driver MK, 34, said he received a call from Etisalat after him a phone bill in his name reached Dh7,000.
“I told them I didn’t have the phone number which the bill is for,” testified MK during prosecution investigation.
Another man, SS, 27 testified that he received a bill of Dh42,000 for a number he did not possess.
Only SN, FA, and AT were present in court. They denied charges of forgery, use of forged documents and embezzling phone calls.
The next hearing will be on September 13.
salamir@thenational.ae
