108 agents held this year for human trafficking and illegal immigration: IGI Airport police data

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 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. IGI Airport police officers said they have issued Look-Out Circulars 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 Usha 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.