DUBAI: A customs broker who bribed an inspector to condone the importation of banned sandalwood will spend three years behind bars, the Criminal Court ruled on Sunday.
The Asian woman, JK, 34, handed a Dhs50,000 cheque to a customs officer at the Jebel Ali Port and asked him to allow a container of red sandalwood into the country on June 21 last year.
It belonged to a compatriot public relations agent MO, 32. The importation of red sandalwood was banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
The court awarded MO the same jail term and ordered that the duo be deported upon completion of the term. It also ordered the confiscation of the cheque.
JK had befriended the inspector and asked for his contact number on grounds she wanted to ask him about customs issues. She later claimed she wanted to import a container of duplicate goods.
He alerted his seniors who advised him to lure her into a trap. She later revealed it contained red sandalwood and that it already arrived at the port. She promised to offer him Dhs25,000 for clearing it.
She added that six similar containers were on en route from Pakistan. In the course of events, she promised to offer him Dhs50,000 for the container in question.
JK showed up at the agreed parking lot in Twar area. As she did not have the cash, she contacted MO who arrived with the cheque. She handed it to the inspector. Police arrested them.
