New Delhi   

Human trafficking racket busted

NEW DELHI: Three travel agents allegedly running an illegal human trafficking racket have been arrested by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police. The accused sent Indian and Nepalese nationals to the US via Latin American countries and Malaysia on forged documents by charging over Rs.25 lakh per head.

The Crime Branch recently received a tip-off that some travel agents in Delhi and Punjab were sending people to the US via Mexico, Ecuador and Guatemala using forged documents. A police team carried out a series of raids at some travel agencies on Barakhamba Road here and arrested three agents, Manoj Pandey, Jitender Mohan and Mohan Lal, on June 23. “Incriminating documents, 152 passportsand Rs. 2.89 lakh in cash were seized,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Neeraj Thakur.

Mr. Thakur said the accused used to get visas for countries like Malaysia and Singapore for their clients after tampering with their passports and using forged documents that enhanced their financial and personal profiles. They would then send their clients to the Latin American countries that offered “visa on arrival” facility.

The travel agents would facilitate illegal entry of their clients to the US via the Mexico border with the help of local agents, following which the accused would receive payments through their relatives. The gang was active for the past seven months and had trafficked over 100 people in the past one year.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Rain, dust storm kill seven in Kanpur
Remembering R.K. Mishra
Okhla residents wary of ‘polluting' energy plant
Now cooked meals at Rs. 15 per plate
Bail for jacket scam accused
Swine flu alert in Delhi hospitals
Road accidents, fatalities shoot up
Between reality and ‘actual reality'
Bombardier ready to cope with Delhi Metro's needs
Human trafficking racket busted
Triple murder accused taken to Rishikesh
Remembering ‘a Brahmin without caste'
Jagan meets Sonia
Babli: meeting of Chief Ministers mooted

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu