An Arab princess is believed to have paid up to €300,000 for a fake Irish passport to aid her escape from her despotic father.
Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum tried to flee Dubai in 2018 but was captured as she made her way to India in a boat.
The 37-year-old royal set out by a dinghy and jet ski, before arriving at a pre-purchased boat that was located at a point nearly 27km off the coast of Oman.
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The princess had planned to sail to India or Sri Lanka and would use a fake Irish passport to fly to the US.
In a video released by the BBC two years ago, she said she had been drugged during her escape attempt and taken back into detention.
UK-based human rights lawyer David Haigh, who was part of Ms Latifa’s legal team and of the Free Latifa campaign, revealed that fake Irish passports are deemed one of the most sought after travel documents in Dubai.
It is understood that the Dubai princess used the name Justina Louise Coiley in the fake passport and gave her place of birth as Co Antrim. The passport expired in 2019 and the date of birth was 1983, which is the same year in which Ms Latifa was born.
Mr Haigh said: “I remember when Latifa said she had this fake passport, I asked her how much she paid for it, and she said it was between €200,000 or €300,000. Crazy money.
“I understand that you could buy them for €30,000 to €40,000. Like everything else in her bid for freedom, she was taken advantage of significantly.
“The passport is a real kind of passport, but the picture is of the person who paid for it, not the person whose name it is. I wasn’t involved in her acquiring it, but she paid a considerable amount more than the so-called going rate, as it were.”
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