203 individuals held for visa and passport fraud in 2024

PTI, Dec 30, 2024, 7:36 PM IST

New Delhi: The Delhi Police IGI Airport Unit has arrested 203 individuals for visa and passport fraud in 2024, an increase of 107 per cent from 98 arrests last year, an official said on Monday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), IGI Airport, Usha Rangnani, revealed the crackdown targeted illegal immigration networks, including agents and facilitators.

“Of the 203 arrests, 142 agents were apprehended in new cases, while 61 were captured following a thorough review of pending investigations,” she said.

Rangnani highlighted the dismantling of two counterfeit visa factories this year — one in Delhi’s Tilak Nagar and another in Surat, Gujarat.

“Delhi’s forgery factory, operated by a graphic designer, produced high-quality counterfeit visas for countries like Canada and the USA. Eight individuals were arrested and over 800 fake sticker visas, sophisticated printing equipment and imitation seals were seized,” she said.

In the Surat operation, an electrical engineer specialising in counterfeit PR cards and visas was apprehended along with six other agents.

The DCP said the IGI Police issued 121 Look Out Circulars (LOCs) in 2024, ensuring that agents attempting to flee abroad were intercepted and apprehended.

Citing major fraud cases, Rangnani mentioned a passenger, who paid Rs 50 lakh for multiple failed attempts to immigrate to the USA, exposing an elaborate fraud network.

Social media scams, including fake visa offers advertised on social media platforms, were also uncovered, resulting in multiple arrests.

She said the police have arrested 70 agents from Punjab, 32 from Haryana, 25 from Delhi, 25 from Uttar Pradesh, 17 from West Bengal, eight from Maharashtra, seven from Gujarat, four from Rajasthan, three from Tamil Nadu, two from Kerala, two from Bihar and one each from Telangana, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar.

“We also launched an awareness campaign urging travellers to verify agents and avoid shortcuts,” Rangnani said.