A man about to board a flight to Italy was intercepted at Delhi airport. His confession led Delhi police to uncover a Rs. 300 crore fake visa nexus.
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00:00A dedicated graphic designer, a network of agents, an office with high-tech gear,
00:05this is how a large-scale visa fraud agency was operating in the national capital.
00:30Victims were lured with the promise of getting easy entry to different countries for jobs
00:39and a better life.
00:40Let me explain how the entire operation was busted.
00:44On 2nd September, a man identified as Sandeep from Kurukshetra in Haryana was arrested from
00:49Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport during a routine immigration check.
00:54Sandeep was planning to fly to Italy using a fake Swedish visa.
00:58He said it could have easily passed off as an authentic visa if the airport officials
01:02were not vigilant.
01:04During questioning, Sandeep said not just him but several people from his village had
01:09travelled abroad recently using similar fake visas from an agency.
01:14Sandeep added that he wanted to move abroad for a better life and job and for that he
01:19met with a visa agent named Asif Ali in Delhi through a friend from his village.
01:24The agent agreed to fly him to Italy for a price of 10 lakh rupees.
01:28Sandeep then deposited 7 lakh rupees in two bank accounts and paid 50,000 rupees in cash
01:34in advance to the agent.
01:36The Delhi police used lease from Sandeep and traced an agency in the national capital's
01:40Tilaknagar area.
01:41As per the police, the visa agency was making over 30 fake visas in a month and made over
01:475,000 fraudulent visas.
01:49It is estimated over the years, the agency could have earned over 300 crores from this racket.
02:19To make the visas look authentic, they employed professionals like graphic designers and
02:27used high-tech tools to forge the documents.
02:31As per the police, they were able to make the authentic-looking visa stickers within
03:04In 2024, the IJR airport police detained around 108 fraudulent visa agents and arrested
03:29at least 19 agents who made and distributed counterfeit visas.
03:34Most of these travellers hailed from different states of India, including Punjab, Bihar and Haryana.
03:39These people were looking for employment opportunities in the UAE, Azerbaijan, Europe and other countries.
03:46Forging a visa is punishable by two years in prison, a fine of up to Rs 5,000 or both.