DUBAI // A transit traveller was acquitted today of knowingly carrying and trying to spend fake US$100 notes at Dubai International Airport.
AM, 39, a Syrian, was was arrested when he tried to purchase cigarettes from a Dubai Duty Free shop with the fake currency, Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance records show.
He told the court that he had purchased US$5,000 (Dh18,000) from an exchange centre in Syria and did not know they were fake.
He said he was flying to China for business and landed in Dubai as a transit passenger.
"I was trying to buy cigarettes for my friend in China when the shop saleswoman told me the $100 bill i gave her was forged," he said.
AM's lawyer told the court that a receipt from the exchange centre in Syria is available to prove there was no criminal intent.
salamir@thenational.ae
