DUBAI // Two Dubai Customs employees are accused of taking Dh120,000 from three Omanis for allowing sheep lorries into the country without going through the inspection procedure.
The defendants – an inspector and a manager aged 26 and 34 respectively – denied charges of asking and accepting the bribe and aiding and abetting at Dubai Criminal Court.
Three Omanis, aged 31, 25 and 23, also denied charges of offering a bribe, aiding and abetting and bringing 23 sheep shipments through the Hatta border without going through proper procedures or obtaining permits.
An Emirati inspector, 33, said he found out about the scam when he chased one of the lorries and stopped it on August 27 last year.
“I saw the driver hand something to one of the defendants then drive into the country without applying for permits,” the inspector said.
The container was labelled “fish” on the outside, which seemed strange to him because all fish containers enter the country by 3am each day.
When he questioned the Omani men driving the sheep to Dubai, they told him that his colleague [the accused inspector] knew everything because they had made a deal with him.
“He swore to me that he paid the defendants more than Dh1.5 million for about 77 shipments that happened before and on Eid Al Fitr,” said the inspector witness, who then confronted the manager who is said to have confessed his involvement.
“I asked him if he ever searched the containers and he said no. I snapped and told him that it could have been weapons,” the witness said.
Of all the sheep confiscated, 129 were found to be suffering from contagious diseases and were destroyed, while another 60 died of other causes and 61 lived.
The Dh120,000 was the bribe amount for the lorry that was caught. There was no evidence for the other alleged payments.
A verdict is expected on January 29.
salamir@thenational.ae
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