Gang trafficking to UK, Canada busted after passport glitch

The deportation of two people who were trying to sneak into Canada on forged passports has helped the Delhi Police bust a major human trafficking racket run out of various airports across the country.

A married couple who allegedly sent people abroad on passports issued to their children, among others, has been identified as the brains behind the racket. Police said a number of routes passing through international destinations such as Incheon (South Korea), Muscat (Oman), London (UK) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) were utilised to ensure that the operation wasn’t busted. The racketeers would charge Rs 30 lakh per passenger, and accompany them on the journey.

The matter came to light on May 29, when the deportees – a man and a woman – were sent back by the United Kingdom immigration authorities while they were en route to Canada through London. Though a case was registered by Mumbai police soon afterwards, a probe revealed that the passports were used to illegally transport people on at least four previous occasions.Investigators have already begun zeroing in on airport personnel who may have colluded with the racketeers. “In Delhi, we identified two immigration officials who allowed impersonators to travel on these passports. We also cross-checked images from the server with those on the passports. They did not match on many occasions,” a Delhi Police officer said.

The deportees reportedly approached London from different directions to outfox immigration officials. While the man came in from Addis Ababa, the woman arrived in a flight from Muscat. “But immigration officials at London airport detected discrepancies in their passports. Mumbai Police later found that the travel documents seized from them were used for departures from Delhi on four occasions since 2015,” the officer said.

The officer added that the lack of arrival entries on the passports hints at the possible involvement of immigration officials in the racket.

TWO PASSPORTS WERE USED ON 4 OCCASIONS TO SEND IMPERSONATOR ABROAD. THE POLICE IS HUNTING FOR A COUPLE FROM GUJARAT WHO TRAVELLED EVERY TIME WITH THE PASSENGERS