Human trafficking case: Mumbai police arrest one more for forging 53 Indian passports

Patel was responsible for sending 53 people to the US and Canada between 2015 and 2017, said the police, who busted the human trafficking racket in May this year by arresting 19 members of the gang.

The Sahar police investigating a human trafficking racket arrested a Gujarat-based agent on Monday for forging Indian passports. The police have arrested 20 people, including the agent, Ballu Kanubhai Patel alias Balwant, 40.

He allegedly charged Rs 50 lakh to Rs 60 lakh for each fake passport. Patel was responsible for sending 53 people to the US and Canada between 2015 and 2017, said the police, who busted the human trafficking racket in May this year by arresting 19 members of the gang.

Since then, the police had been trying to track down Patel.

Three immigration officials, identified as Rajesh Godse, Pravin Avsarmane and Sanjay Thorat, were also part of the racket.

Patel and his accomplices primarily operated by forging passports and ensuring a safe passage to the travellers from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

One of the accused arrested earlier, Mustakali Kapde, had taken 10 different women abroad by using his wife’s passport and simply changing their photographs.

The case first came to light on May 8, after Komal Dabgar, 23, was deported from Canada when immigration officials at Vancover discovered that she had a forged passport.