Delhi Police have busted a “visa factory” located in Tilak Nagar, west Delhi, which is suspected of producing numerous counterfeit visas over the past five years for significant profits. Six individuals have been arrested, and a large haul of fake visas, passports, and equipment has been confiscated.
The gang had allegedly sold 1,800-2,000 fake visas, police said, with each going for Rs 8 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. They also fabricated residency cards and other documents. Police estimated the gang made Rs 100 crore over the years.
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DCP (airport) Usha Rangnani said the mastermind, 51-year-old Manoj Monga, ran the “factory” from his residence. The gang produced around 30 fake visas a month, the DCP said, with Monga claiming he could could prepare a visa sticker in 20 minutes.
Intricate web of local agents helped gang run this ‘visa factory’They allegedly used Telegram, Signal, and WhatsApp for communication and had an intricate web of local agents in several states. All claims are being verified, police said.
The others arrested are Shiva Gautam, Naveen Rana, Balbir Singh, Jaswinder Singh, and Ashif Ali. The racket unravelled with the arrest of a passenger, Sandeep, at IGI airport on Sept 2 with a counterfeit Swedish visa. Sandeep told cops he had paid Rs 10 lakh for the visa to Ali, Rana and Gautam, who guaranteed his travel to Europe.
Police have recovered an array of equipment from Monga’s residence, including laptops, printers, scanners, UV machines, and embossing devices.
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A team comprising inspector Sushil Goyal and others confiscated a substantial quantity of materials used in the production of spurious visas – 23 rubber stamps, three fraudulent permanent residency cards, and four metal dyes. Around 30 counterfeit visa stickers issued under different names for various nations, and 16 Nepalese and Indian passports were impounded.
Monga told cops he had been in the business of printing flex boards for 20 years but made little money. Around five years ago, he came into contact with Jaideep Singh, who urged him to use his expertise to produce fake visas. Monga and Singh set up the racket, and over time, Monga became proficient at producing counterfeit visas, permanent residency cards, and similar documents. He even provided fake appointment letters in the name of firms like VFS Global etc to his clients to create an illusion of genuine procurement.
Airport police have advised all travellers to obtain their travel documentation only through authorised agencies and to guard against fraudulent agents offering cheaper rates for journeys abroad.
