Chennai: Three-decades old racket, which gave passports to foreigners, busted
The central crime branch unearthed a passport racket running in Chennai for almost three decades. Under the Goondas Act, the police detained 10 people and picked another 4 on Friday. The fraudsters issued original Indian passports to foreign nationals, especially Sri Lankan Tamils. The passports were, in turn, used to procure visas of countries like the UK, Australia, Canada etc. TOI reports.
First fake ration cards were made, then Aadhaar
Refugees staying in Tamil Nadu would contact agents of Triplicane, Anna Nagar or Velachery for passports, and a deal would be struck for Rs. 3-5 lakh. The agents made fake ration cards, voter IDs, etc., which would be used for generating documents like Aadhaar and telephone bills. With the fake documents in place, the fraudsters would begin the process of applying for a passport.
But what about police who verify applicants? There's a catch
The foreigners would then appear for a personal interview at one of the passport centers. The agents would bribe police officers, meant for verification of applicants, who would give the foreign nationals a clean chit. They even bribed postmen tasked with delivering the passports. An official said those who couldn't get to Australia illegally, approached the racketeers.
For Rs. 1,000, postman delivered passports
On July 10, the police apprehended a constable K Murugan, and a day later postman Dhanasekaran was interrogated. The postman worked with the postal department for almost three decades. An investigation revealed the officials helped travel agents and at least 15 foreigners were given passports. Reportedly, they took a bribe of Rs. 1,000 each to deliver passports at fake addresses.
The fraudsters didn't need to breach security to run racket
The police also arrested a CRPF constable posted at Chennai airport as a counter officer. An officer said the fraudsters didn't need to tamper security features of passports, instead thye bribed people to get the job done. Further, officers believe the disturbing trend is not only limited to Chennai and may have spread to outskirts as well.
