Three men get one-year term for illegal sale of gas cylinders

dubai — A 53-year-old Pakistani and two Afghans, both aged 25, who engaged in illegal selling of gas cylinders by using fake stickers and duping the customers, have each been sentenced to one year in jail.

The Court of First Instance was told the three men would buy new cylinders from the source, then refill them into empty cylinders by manipulating the weight. They would re-sell the refilled pieces to bakeries, after covering them with fake stickers to deceive the customers into believing they were getting the real deal. The court heard their illegal activities’ aim was to make profits by not sticking to the standard weight.

The court found them guilty of charges of faking a government company brand name and using it unlawfully, transporting inflammable merchandise, dealing in hazardous material, committing fraud in commercial deals and putting others’ lives at risk. They were also ordered to pay a Dh20,000 fine each and will be deported after completing their jail terms.

The 53-year-old Pakistani driver admitted during investigation that he made the other two accomplices work in emptying and re-filling of gas cylinders. He confessed they had modest experience in that but were doing it without any knowledge or respect to safety requirements.

He told the investigating prosecutor he had bought 1,000 counterfeit stickers for Dh500. He would then transport the re-filled cylinders to sell them to bakeries.

The defendants’ wrongdoings dated to March 26 and were reported in early August to Al Foqaa police station.

The police were alerted by an inspector at the operations section of a gas company, in whose name the stickers had been faked and illegally traded.

“Officers from the civil defence informed us about suspicious gas cylinders that carried our brand name. We moved to the warehouse from where the accused were carrying out their illegal activities,” the inspector said. “By that time, we also received many complaints from customers that they had purchased half-filled cylinders.”

The material used by the accused in the illegal trade was ordered to be confiscated by the court. The ruling has been appealed. mary@khaleejtimes.com