DAMMAM: The Shoura Council is drafting new anti-forgery and counterfeit penalties, Gen. Aqil Bin Muhammad Al-Aqil, Director General of Criminal Evidence at the General Security Administration, said here Sunday. He said the Shoura recently sought the assistance of the department's experts for information on the technical aspects related to punishments. Security measures regarding the wanted persons list, and the Ministry of Finance's recent measures on checks, curbed currency and check counterfeiting, Al-Aqil said. The official said 15 new buildings for the Police's Criminal Evidence department are coming up all over the country and will be operational within 18 months. He said technical examinations related to forgery, counterfeiting and DNA issues and other tests are being carried out in the country in the wake of the inauguration of more than 16 laboratories. He added that Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries in the world to own these technologies. The official said forgery cases are not concentrated in specific regions. There was previously an increase in forgery cases during Haj and Umrah but this has now been reduced by 80 percent after efforts of the Ministry of Interior.
