DOHA: A lower criminal court has sentenced three Pakistanis, including a woman, to five years in jail and fined QR5,000 each for circulating counterfeit currency notes of some other GCC countries.
They will be deported after they serve their term.
As per details, one convict “bought” counterfeit notes in his country for Pakistani rupees 60,000 (QR2,500) and tried to circulate in Qatar with the help from his two accomplices. They went to supermarkets and bought cheaper foodstuff like juices and sweets as they wanted to exchange as many fake bills as possible.
One shopkeeper discovered that the notes were forged as he compared one with a genuine bill he had.
He noted down the number of the convicts’ car and tipped off police, local Arabic daily Al Raya reports. Police traced them through the car number.
The convicts would first pay in the Qatari currency and then pretend that the local currency was not enough and would then take out forged GCC bills.
The woman was in a GCC get-up and spoke Arabic, said the victim.
Apparently, she was involved to fool shopkeepers. She purchased things at many outlets. At one shop she bought commodities worth QR40 but said the local currency was not enough so she handed out a forged 500 bill of a GCC currency. The victim returned her QR460.
Later at another outlet when she tried to buy some mobile recharge vouchers it was discovered that the note was forged.
One convict admitted to police that he brought the counterfeits from Pakistan and gave some to his accomplices to circulate in the local market.
He also guided police to the outlets they had visited.
The Peninsula
