Delhi police say they have busted a human trafficking ring operating out of the Delhi airport involving a ground-handling firm, immigration officials, and agents.
The operation was discovered when a passenger who was bound for a domestic flight was found to be in possession of both a fake passport and international boarding pass bound for Toronto, complete with official immigration stamps.
The Hindustan Times reports:
“A 22-year-old man from Jalandhar was detained and a passport on the name of Gurpreet Singh along with a boarding card was recovered. At Terminal 3, some domestic Air India flights operate from the international area, and these passengers took benefit of it and cleared the immigration as domestic passengers. After the security check, the passenger received an international boarding pass and a fake passport,” said a Delhi police officer.
During the course of investigation, CCTV footage was scanned and a staff member of Celebi, a ground-handling company at the Delhi airport, was found printing the fake boarding card. Apart from baggage handling, Celebi also operates check-in counters for many international flights.
The Celebi staffer admitted of giving the boarding card to an agent. He revealed the name of another Celebi staff and two immigration officials, who are part of this racket.
The Celebi staff were promised ₹75,000 to print the fake boarding pass.
The police added that they have identified the masterminds behind the operation and that they are looking into how the group was able to obtain official immigration stamps. A senior immigration official declined to comment on the case, but said the two immigration officers named in the operation have been taken off duty.
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