Two Iranian nationals arrested for illegally staying in India

Police said the suspects were allegedly involved in taking commission by transacting money through hawala and were staying on with fake documents

A joint raid by a team of the chief minister’s flying squad and police arrested two Iranian nationals allegedly staying illegally even after the expiry of their visa and passport.

Police said they registered a case under the Foreigners Act, money laundering and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at Sector 50 police station. (Representational image)

Police identified the suspects as Puriya Siraj, 25 and Mohammad Mughani, 24, of Iran. They were allegedly involved in taking commission by transacting money through hawala and were staying on with fake documents in a rented accommodation in Sector 49. Five phones, $514, two gold rings, one earring, seven watches, fake ID proofs and ₹18,730 were recovered from their possession, said police.

Police said they registered a case under the Foreigners Act, money laundering and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at Sector 50 police station.

Deputy superintendent of police (crime) Inderjeet Yadav said that they received a tip-off after which a team was formed including the crime unit of Gurugram Police. “We raided an apartment on Friday afternoon. Two Iranian nationals were found staying illegally. The passport and visa of Puriya Siraj and his brother Mohammad Mughani had expired. Both were staying on ₹16,000 per month rent. The landlord had not submitted a C form regarding their stay and had not even got their police verification done,” he said.

“A driver’s license from Delhi, voter ID card, PAN card, driving license from Iran, Haryana family identity card, passbook and debit card of Karnataka Bank also recovered from his possession. During questioning they revealed that they were involved in hawala transactions,” he said.