Illegal trafficking gang busted in Delhi, four arrested

Delhi Police claimed to have arrested four men involved in a syndicate that facilitated illegal travel abroad using forged documents.

The senior officer revealed the identities of the individuals as Girish Bhandari (48), Himanshu Mehta (23), Gagan Sharma (22), and Ramesh Arya (38). Operating under the guise of a tour and travel business called ‘Harsh Tour and Travel,’ which had its office in Tilak Nagar, west Delhi, the syndicate had been active for a period of 10-12 years.

According to officials, during the arrest, the police seized a substantial amount of incriminating evidence, including 80 passports from various countries, forged documents, stamps, and laptops.

Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav stated that the raid on an office in Prem Nagar, Tilak Nagar was carried out based on a tip-off, leading to the arrest of the four individuals. The seized items also included currency, forged bank statements, letter pads of different firms, and companies.

He said that the accused operated primarily in Delhi, with their network of agents spread across the National Capital Region (NCR), Haryana, Punjab, and Gujarat.

“Their modus operandi involved enticing individuals with promises of illegal entry into foreign countries. For a Schengen visa, which grants access to 27 European nations, the gang charged a minimum of Rs 6 lakh from each person. In the case of entry into the United States via the US-Mexico border, the gang demanded around Rs 27 lakh per person,” he added.

The gang followed a systematic process in which they obtained original passports and bank details from their clients. Utilizing editing software, they would forge necessary documents and process visas based on these counterfeit papers, he further added.

Additionally, they would collect additional funds from individuals just before boarding. The gang would send people in groups of four to five from New Delhi or Jaipur to Baku-Istanbul-EL Salvador. Another preferred route involved traveling via Europe-Mexico.(With inputs from PTI)