108 agents held this year for human trafficking and illegal immigration: IGI Airport police data
The crackdown, officials said, is part of larger efforts to curb cases of human trafficking and illegal immigration
At least 108 agents involved in human trafficking using forged passports and visas were arrested till June 30 this year as part of a nationwide crackdown carried out by the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport police, senior police officers aware of the police action said, adding that arrests have seen a nearly 90% rise from the same period last year.
The crackdown, officials said, is part of larger efforts to curb cases of human trafficking and illegal immigration, wherein Indians as well as citizens from neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Nepal, were cheated with the promise of ensuring safe travel abroad for jobs.
IGI Airport police officers said they have issued Look-Out Circulars (LOC) against 76 agents wanted regarding different cases of cheating, illegal immigration, and forgery, but are hiding in different foreign countries.
The agents have used at least 10 different modus operandi including travelling using fake visa, through donkey routes, on someone else’s passport with similar features, making fake Indian passport for foreign nationals, changing identity after blacklisting and tampering of passport, said deputy commissioner of police (IGI Airport) Usha Rangnani.
According to data shared by Delhi Police, while 108 human trafficking agents were arrested till June 30 this year, the number of arrests of agents was 57 in the same period in 2023 – this means arrests have seen an 89.5% year-on-year rise for this period.
Of the 108 arrested agents, most of them were from Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, officers said, adding that 19 were involved in cases of fake visa, while 24 were arrested in cases related to incidents where their clients travelled on someone else’s passport with similar facial features.
There were arrests of 21 agents for sending or attempting to send citizens from India’s adjoining countries (barring Pakistan) to other countries using fake Indian passports, DCP Rangnani said.
“At least 11 agents were arrested this year for sending their clients to foreign countries using Donkey routes. Such agents exploit passengers by sending them to countries offering visa-on-arrival to Indian nationals, organising routes that facilitate illegal border crossings into destination countries,” she added.
Explaining the Donkey route method, DCP Rangnani said that a common tactic of the agents involves sending passengers with fake Schengen visas to accessible European countries like Azerbaijan or Kazakhstan. From there, they are routed through Central American or Caribbean countries such as Guatemala and Costa Rica, and finally to the United States.
In one such case cracked recently, a passenger, who was deported from the US disclosed in his interrogation that he had gone to that country in 2017 through a donkey route that was facilitated through two agents who charged him ₹20 lakh and directed him through Dubai, Cuba, Peru, Nicaragua, Mexico, and finally to his destination.
“Throughout his harrowing journey, the passenger went through severe hardships, often going hungry and sleepless. His original passport was confiscated by the agents, and despite reaching the US and securing work there, his life took a turn in 2023 when he got into a fight in Chicago that led to his imprisonment for nearly nine months. He was finally deported to India, rendering all his efforts ultimately futile,” added Rangnani.
Senior officers said that the IGI Airport police’s investigation into the old and new human trafficking cases revealed that various rackets and scams involve other methods such as affixing fake departure and arrival stamps, producing fake visas, forging passports, work permits, and seaman documents, creating fake identities for foreign nationals—especially for Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas—and orchestrating impersonation schemes.
On the modus operandi wherein passengers travel on someone else’s passports, an officer said that the agents procure passports of individuals with similar facial features to low-profile passengers. These passports usually have a strong travel history and robust profile, enabling the passengers to navigate immigration process more effectively.
“Such passengers often resort to changing their identities to obtain new passports for which they seek help from agents. In one such case this year, a passenger was deported from Israel after he was caught overstaying. The person from Gujarat later obtained a new passport through an agent named Ramesh Sharma from West Bengal, who assisted him in acquiring fake IDs from Bagdogra. Three agents were arrested this year in such cases,” added DCP Rangnani.