Gang involved in trafficking Bangladeshis as Indians busted

Delhi police on Sunday claimed to have cracked an international gang allegedly involved in sending Bangladesh nationals as Indian citizens to Greece and other European countries via Turkey with the arrest of 10 men including eight Bangladeshis.

Delhi police on Sunday claimed to have cracked an international gang allegedly involved in sending Bangladesh nationals as Indian citizens to Greece and other European countries via Turkey with the arrest of 10 men including eight Bangladeshis.

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The Special Operation Cell of Delhi police Crime Branch recovered 29 passports allegedly prepared on forged documents, stamps of various departments of government, computers, and one Toyota Qualis vehicle at the instance of the accused persons.

Police took up the action based on a tip-off that a large number of Bangladeshi nationals were visiting European countries, especially Greece via Turkey on the basis of forged and tampered Indian passports but with genuine Visas.

"Travel agents in Bangladesh would affix a forged Turkish visa on the genuine passports of the Bangladeshi nationals aspiring to go to European countries and send them to their Indian counterparts in Delhi, who prepared Indian passports on forged documents and put genuine Turkish visas.

"The Bangladeshis would then depart from Delhi Airport on the genuine passports carrying the forged Turkey visa.

"The agents in Turkey would then send the Bangladeshi nationals to Greece either by road or by boat where the illegal immigrant gets a temporary visa to start working based on the Indian visa with genuine visa," a senior police official said, explaining the modus operandi of the gang.

The breakthrough in cracking the racket came with the arrest of two accused Mohd Jahinuddin alias Badul, a Bangladeshi travel agent, and Akram Ali, who runs Symphony Travels at Hazrat Nizamuddin, from Mahipalpur here.

Jahinuddin, staying illegally here, was an important part of the racket, while Akram was not only actively associated with him in procurement of travel tickets but also used to prepare various fake identification documents, police said.

A number of passports were recovered at the instance of Akram from his office here.

The Bangladeshis, willing to visit Greece on the basis of forged passport and visas, used to pay an amount ranging between five to eight lakh Bangladeshi takas to their country based agents, they said.

Among those arrested include one S M Ibrahim of Chennai, who was apprehended from the Chennai airport. Police allegedly recovered 14 passports, various forged stamps and other documents at his instance.

Other Bangladeshis arrested in connection with the case are Kadir Miyan, Iliyas, Mohd Shahriar Mamun, Mohd Shah Alam Sheikh, Hayder Ali, Mohd Helaluddin, and Dipankar Day.