Punjab man crosses 11 nations to illegally enter US, deported

10,000KM JOURNEY After arriving at IGI airport, he was handed over to Delhi Police by the immigration department

NEW DELHI: An Indian, who travelled over 10,000 km through 11 countries across central America — from Brazil to Mexico — in a month in order to enter the United States illegally in 2016, was deported back after he was caught staying there illegally.

He was handed over to the Delhi Police by the immigration department after he arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday.

According to the immigration department, the man was identified as Harpreet Singh, a resident of Punjab’s Kapurthala district. Singh was detained during the early hours of Saturday after he arrived in Delhi by a United Airlines flight UA82 as a deportee, said an officer on the condition of anonymity.

“The man took flight ET887 from the IGI Airport to Brazil on August 20, 2016, on a valid passport. Thereafter, he started his illegal journey to the US. Questioning revealed that after arriving in Brazil, Singh went to Bolivia where he contacted some associates of his travel agent, back in his hometown in Punjab. There he sought assistance to travel by road, north to the US,” the officer said.

From Bolivia, Singh arrived in Lima, Peru. Thereafter he managed to reach Costa Rica passing through Ecuador, Columbia and Panama. From Costa Rica he entered Honduras and went to Guatemala and finally arrived in Mexico, the officer said.

“From Mexico, he then managed to reach the US illegally on a boat. He took more than a month to complete this journey,” he said.

Deputy commissioner of police (IGI Airport) Sanjay Bhatia said, “When he was en-route to the US, his belongings along with his original passport were taken away by local miscreants. He then approached his agent in India who arranged a fake Indian passport for him. Singh also identified his agent as one Rana, a resident of Jalandhar in Punjab.”

After reaching the US, Singh worked for 15 months at a department store in a town in the US state of Louisiana before being apprehended for staying there illegally, Bhatia said.

Police officials said the accused revealed that he sneaked into the United States illegally because he wanted US citizenship.

A case under sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged document or electronic record as genuine) and passport act, has been registered against the accused and he has been arrested, DCP Bhatia said.

When he was enroute to the US, his belongings, along with his original passport, were taken away by local miscreants. He then approached his agent in India who arranged a fake Indian passport for him. SANJAY BHATIA, Deputy commissioner of police (IGI Airport)