An Egyptian man accused of being part of a gang of international car smugglers is on trial for fraudulently taking out loans using fake identities.

Police believe the 45-year-old was a member of the gang, which was run by a Jordanian man and allegedly smuggled 30 cars out of the country, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The defendant has been accused of forging a salary slip that stated he earned BD2,600 ($6,847) a month working in the King Hamad University Hospital. He then allegedly took a BD28,557 loan from a local bank to pay for a Toyota Land Cruiser, according to High Criminal Court documents.

He reportedly paid two instalments before smuggling the vehicle out of the country through the King Fahad Causeway in December 2012 to be sold in Jordan.

The defendant, who is at large and is being tried in absentia, is also said to have spent BD6,216 using two credit cards, which he took out using forged identities.

A bank employee told prosecutors the defendant stopped paying his instalments after two months and fled with the car.

“He said he wanted to take a car loan of BD28,557 for a Toyota Land Cruiser, but he only paid two instalments of BD340 each month before he stopped the payments,” said the Indian man.

“He also took two credit cards worth BD6,216 in total. We have five other similar cases in the bank.”

The investigating detective told the Public Prosecution that 30 cars have been smuggled into Saudi Arabia by a gang operating in Bahrain.

“I have been investigating similar cases where a gang took out 30 cars out of Bahrain through the King Fahad Causeway,” he said in his statement.

“It included Egyptian and Asian men and a Jordanian man whose job was to smuggle the vehicle into Saudi and then to Jordan.

“The suspects took out auto loans before giving it to the Jordanian man to smuggle out of the country.”

The defendant has been charged with forgery and theft, and has had his trial adjourned to March 4 to attend the hearing. - TradeArabia News Service