Col Al Mazmi said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the team achieved outstanding results and no one among its staff members has so far been infected by the virus. The Forensics Department has built a new building for the forensic laboratory. All staff will move to this new building in the Al Rifaa area later this year, Col Al Mazmi revealed.
Need to educate labourers and workers
Dangers of fire accidents
There were several other incidents of fire caused from sparks during welding, gas leaks, chemical leakage and electrical defects. In yet another accident, a laptop in the running mode was left on the bed. The fan vent of the laptop was blocked by the bed linen, causing the laptop to heat up excessively and causing a fire. There were other incidents of fire caused by mobile phone chargers and a toy’s scooter.
Smuggling menace
Furnishing details of some these crimes, Col Al Mazmi said two men attempting to smuggle 1.6kg of gold worth Dh312,000, had the yellow metal concealed in 42 perfume bottles. In another recent incident, a man carrying a capsule was arrested at the airport after forensic experts detected a mismatch between the small size of the capsule and its heavy weight. The man, it turned out, had managed to pack in 240 grammes of gold inside the capsule. The capsule, in the form of an organic paste, was exposed to a flame following which, the organic substance evaporated, leaving pure 24 carat of gold behind! Similarly, authorities were able to seize 526.8 grammes of methamphetamine after sifting through a bag containing sesame seeds. The forensic laboratory also confiscated a sealed packet of cheese, which, upon examination, was found to be containing Hashish wraps inside.
Forgery of documents and car chassis numbers
Syed Shaaban, an anti-counterfeiting expert at Sharjah Police’s forensic laboratory, told Gulf News about cases of forgery and urged community members to avoid having signatures that have a simple form. He advised community members to make sure their signatures were complicated enough to make them difficult to be forged. He also advised people that while selling or buying any property, apart from the signature, they should also insist on putting their fingerprint [the entire finger, from all sides] in order to protect their rights.
Shabaan said in one case, a man had signed a blank cheque 15 years ago when he started a business with his partner. The partner took advantage of the blank cheque, wrote Dh12 million on it and deposited it in the bank. The issuer of the cheque denied writing such a big amount on the cheque, but confirmed that the signature on the cheque was his, though it had changed over 15 years. The Forensics Department finally found out that the business partner had forged the cheque amount.
Fraudulent claim
The buyer had cut the receipt of trust into four pieces and used the part that had the signature and the fingerprint of the seller to forge the document. Forensic experts noticed that there was big space between the upper part of the document and the part where the signature and the fingerprint were. The buyer had used the part of the paper that carried only the signature and the fingerprint and placed it on a different sheet of paper that purportedly claimed that he had paid the seller in full. However, the signature was supposed to be below the printed word ‘signature’, but he had placed it before the word ‘signature’ and the word ‘signature’ was also misspelt.
It took the forensics team four years to solve the case and prove the buyer guilty in court.
DNA database
DNA tests conducted at the forensics laboratory have helped solve many cases, even internationally. “Many international experts have used the laboratory’s DNA results and findings [for investigations],” he added. DNA tests help police in cases like murder and rape and help fix an individual’s identity in disasters and in parental disputes. “The DNA is extracted from the blood and analysed using advanced devices,” he added.
Solid evidence-based investigations
Sharjah Police’s Forensics Laboratory has made a unique achievement as it helped identify the suspects in all the criminal cases filed last year. No case was recorded against any unidentified person. He said the laboratory had been producing much better results these days and providing solid evidence to help solve an increasing number of cases. He said that the forensics team — including evidence technicians, crime-scene analysts and forensic investigators — work in close coordination with police investigators and prosecutors. “The work of the forensics lab requires highly-educated individuals with a background in forensic sciences, natural sciences and criminal justice system,” he said, adding that the Sharjah Police Forensics Department has a good team with relevant expertise. He said the laboratory had also carried out a number of awareness campaigns to protect the public from crimes, accidents and dangers of pesticides.
Original news source Credit: gulfnews.com
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