Central Crime Branch busts gang involved in forging passports, visas 

Central Crime Branch busts gang involved in forging passports, visas 

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Greater Chennai Police on Tuesday busted a gang involved in forging passports and visas.

The police said that on May 19, Deputy Director, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), forwarded a complaint to the CCB, alleging that one suspect, Mohammed Sheik Iliyas, 54, of Royapuram, had been arrested recently for possessing and smuggling gold. On searching his house, the DRI had found that he was making forged passports and visas, and was in possession of machines that could create the fake documents. They recovered the fake passports and forged visas. After interrogation,

The CCB formally arrested Iliyas on May 20. Based on his confession, they investigated the agents who were making the forged documents and arrested N. Sivakumar, 43, of Tiruvottiyur and A. Mohammed Bukari, 42, of Royapuram. They recovered fake passports, papers used in passports, fake rubber stamps, computer peripherals, UV light, stamping machines and two mobile phones — amounting to 160 properties altogether — from them. “The suspects sourced papers of old passports and visas from agents and forged the documents..., and made money from the people who aspired to go abroad for jobs,” Additional Commissioner of Police, CCB, C. Mageshwari said.

The police said Iliyas had collected expired passports from agents in India and abroad for ₹1500-₹5000. He tore the used pages and replaced them with fake ones. Every passport has laser holes to identify the serial numbers. The gang used chemicals, procured online, to cover the holes and replaced them with different numbers, said police. The police appealed to the public to be more vigilant while applying for passports and visas, and urged them to submit proper documents with the regional passport office for passports and approach the consulate office of the respective country for visas.