Tourist forged French passport to fly to Italy, Dubai court hears

The man was caught while trying to board an Emirates flight to Rome

A Dubai court has granted a retrial to an Emirati man who was convicted of causing his friend’s death in a Shisha fire. AFP

A tourist forged a French passport and a boarding pass to board a flight to Italy, Dubai Criminal Court heard.

The Moroccan man, 25, confessed to the crime in court on Sunday.

He said he paid Dh12,957 to a man in Turkey in March 2020 for a fake passport.

“I wanted to fly to Italy to find better living conditions,” he said.

The fake passport was shipped to his accommodation in Dubai.

Judges heard the man was arrested on January 17, 2021, trying to board an Emirates flight to Italy.

“I was double-checking travellers’ documents ahead of their boarding a Dubai-Rome flight when I suspected him of using a fake passport,” a security guard at Dubai International Airport said.

“It was obvious the passport and the Dubai exit/entry stamps were forged.”

The man was caught when the guard asked him for a second form of ID to prove his French nationality.

He was arrested by the police and charged with forging the passport, boarding pass and exit/entry stamps.

A verdict is expected on April 20.