Tourist tried to smuggle forged passports into UAE, court hears

DUBAI // A Nigerian tourist attempted to smuggle eight forged passports into the country hidden inside books.

Prosecutors said that on January 29 this year, the 26-year-old had arrived at Dubai International Airport when an Emirati customs inspector noticed his bag was suspiciously thick.

“I saw a number of books in the bag and they looked suspicious,” said the inspector, adding that when he opened two books he found passports from Nigeria, Ghana, and Guinea hidden inside.

“The first book had five passports in it while the second had three,” said the inspector.

Officers from Dubai Police’s General Department of Forensic Science and Criminology said the data pages in the passports had been removed and new ones added. Entry stamps were also found to be forged.

The defendant denied a forgery charge in the Dubai Criminal Court last month. However, he was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail to be followed by deportation.

salamir@thenational.ae

Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company

The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.

He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.

“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.

“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.

HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.

With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.