Dollars for gold scam at Dubai Gold Souq

A shrewd businessman’s ploy to have gold in exchange of fake currency was thwarted by an alert salesman.

With a bag of US dollars when a confident-looking customer walked in to a shop in Gold Souq in Deira in August and demanded to see the latest pieces, the salesmen at the shop were happy to cloak some business.

The 26-year-old Nigerian businessman chose 445 grams of gold worth $20,000 (Dh7,3462) and made the payment, too.

However, the thrill of the sale was short-lived when the alert salesman noticed the notes felt different in texture.

He shared his concern with his colleagues even as the customer was present in the shop, waiting to close the transaction. The Indian salesman decided to check the authenticity of the notes with a money exchange.

The salesman testified in court that he informed the customer that he would exchange the dollars into dirhams and be back soon. To his dismay, the exchange staff informed that most of the notes were counterfeit. “US$19,400 were forged while the $600 were genuine,” he added.

He immediately informed cops.

Sergeant Ahmad Rashid also testified that he was on duty when the Operations Room received the call. He told the court that he had gone to the money exchange in Naif area where the staff told him that the notes been handed over by the jewellery shop staff was forged.

Police confiscated $20,900 from the suspect of which $900 were genuine and the rest were forged.

The suspect will be deported after serving one year in jail for smuggling fake $20,000 into the country and possessing them.

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