4 in dock over Dh98m bribe offer

— Four men allegedly offered Dh98 million as bribe to the executive director of a security establishment to smuggle out containers of sandalwood from a Dubai port, a court has heard.

The Court of First Instance was told the four men — a businessman, two salesmen and a sales manager (all Indians) — approached the Emirati director of the ports, customs and free zone security establishment in Dubai to help them illegally take 98 containers of banned sandalwood — that were seized by the customs — out of Jebel Ali Port.

“They asked for my help in smuggling out containers seized by the Dubai Customs at the Jebel Ali Port. They requested the containers of banned red sandalwood to be taken out of port and moved to warehouses in the Jebel Ali Free Zone. They were to sell the merchandise to others in the country. They said they would pay me Dh1 million for each of the 98 containers. “I made them think I had accepted their offer. But I felt offended in fact,” the 47-year-old director said. “One of them said each container’s price was Dh3 million and they would pay me Dh1 million within 48 hours for every container I would help smuggle out of the port. I reported them to the Dubai Police.”

He was instructed by the police to make the suspects believe he was moving ahead with the deal.

The accused were willing to give him Dh50,000 to pay other employees for any help in smuggling out the banned shipments.

The defendants were arrested in a sting operation on December 12, 2016, right after one of them paid the director Dh50,000 in an envelope.