By Wam

A total of 503 fake passports were seized during the last six months by the Expertise Centre Identity and Fraud Documents, ECIFD, system at Dubai International Airport, according to a top official.

During an inspection visit yesterday to the ECIFD, Major General Mohammed Al Marri, Director-General of the General Directorate for Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai, GDRFA-Dubai, said that out of these passports 332 were forged, two distorted and 169 were identity theft.

According to Aqueel Al Najaar, Director of ECIFD, said that visitors trying to enter the country using fake identity documents are being easily exposed at the airport, due to the high-tech passport-reading and biometrics technology system designed to identify fraud.

He added that the centre, which was established in 2010, helps verify the identities of millions of travellers passing through Dubai airport each year.

He explained that the training centre of ECIFD develops and maintains a high level of expertise in relation to document checks on national and international investigation, and training on body language is also very important for passport control officers.

He added that all the training programmes at the centre are conducted by Emirati trainers, and a total of 316 trainee have completed their courses since the beginning of the year.

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