Chennai CCB busts passport fraud ring, arrests 3 foreigners

CHENNAI:The Chennai police’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested three foreign nationals for attempting to obtain Indian passports using forged documents to illegally travel abroad. The police are also questioning four people, including two from Tamil Nadu, who aided the arrested foreign nationals.

The operation began on Tuesday after immigration officials at the Chennai International Airport alerted the CCB’s Fake Passport Investigation Wing about suspicious passengers. Following the order from Chennai Police Commissioner A Arun, the CCB launched an investigation and arrested the persons.

The arrested foreign nationals were identified as Mohammed Kasim Pathan (41) from Bangladesh, Sangupillai Sarojini Devi (58) from Sri Lanka, and Dhanraj Pokhriyal (40) from Nepal. All three were arrested and remanded in custody and lodged in Puzhal Central Prison.

The police have also picked up Bina Das (54) from Odisha, Ramamoorthy (44) from Nagapattinam, Chennamma (45) from Andhra Pradesh, and Parakathulla (59) from Sivaganga for questioning.

According to the police, their investigation revealed that the accused concealed their true identities and nationalities. They used forged Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, and PAN cards to apply for passports. The suspects were aiming to exploit Indian passports for illegal migration, officials said.

Lauding the CCB team for their swift action, city police commissioner A Arun warned, "Unauthorised travel agencies are luring citizens into document fraud schemes. Those attempting illegal passport procurement or aiding such activities will face strict legal action.”