ABU DHABI // A shop owner faces charges of importing illegal military-grade electronic equipment and computer chips, and then forging documents to cover the crime.
M K S, 46, had claimed at the Federal Supreme Court that the equipment was for the use of two government entities, which cannot be named after a legal order by the judge.
On Monday, the first witness to give testimony was S M, 44, who works in the office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that monitors imports of weapons and military equipment.
He said the defendant was first contacted to talk about his procedures for imports.
“We received information that M K S had imported equipment from the United States, which we [the committee responsible for imports] then reshipped to America.” S M said the equipment in the shipment consisted of electronic devices capable of military and civilian use, which were usually employed in the development or maintenance of weapons.
“We then contacted the defendant and explained the procedures of acquiring such equipment, and we made him sign a pledge not to repeat the actions.
“We later received information that he had reimported without sticking to the procedures.”
The equipment found was three to four medium-sized cartons that contained small electronic devices, the witness said.
He said M K S had confessed that he had wanted to send the equipment to a research centre in his hometown.
The second witness, S T, a state security officer, said the defendant had established his electronics shop in 2012.
It was also alleged he was cooperating with a research centre in his hometown, where he used the forged documents of government entities to make orders.
“In March 2013, M K S imported three devices from the United States to the UAE. They were then meant to make their way to Syria,” he said.
“But the shipment was reshipped to America due to UAE laws and procedures. After four months, the defendant tried to repeat his activities, but this time starting from China and going to the UAE by air, to then travel to Syria by land,” he said.
“M K S was asked by the manufacturer to provide the last user of the device, which is why he forged documents claiming they were for the government entities. The equipment that reached Syria was first sent to the defendant’s main office before reaching the research centre.”
The witness also said the centre was specialised in the development of weapons, and was under the current rulership of the country and is supervised by the government.
He said the defendant had used the UAE as a moderator to import and export such equipment and that this action harmed the country’s reputation and its relations with other countries.
Judge Falah Al Hajeri directed that information on the defendant not be disclosed to the media to protect his family and adjourned the case until April 13.
aalkhoori@thenational.ae
