When the city police busted a fake passport and visa racket in June, it turned out they had put paid to one of the biggest such scams in recent times.
The fraud has raised concerns among embassies of European countries here, as it emerged that, over the past few years, 200 persons had illegally gained entry to countries aided by the fraudsters.
The racketeers, operating for over a decade in Chennai, were led by Krishnamoorthy (64), a Sri Lankan national who was arrested twice in cases relating to counterfeiting passports. Krishanmoorthy was booked under the Goondas Act on Thursday.
The elderly man, described by police as an ‘expert’ in passport duplication, had a network involving two groups — one for sourcing expired, damaged or stolen passports, and the other, comprising brokers, locally known as kilis (parrots in Tamil), to find clients.
“Passports are primarily sourced from people who are cheated by touts over promises of overseas jobs. The victims are often put up in lodges in Triplicane and the prolonged wait drives them to sell their passports for Rs. 2,000 or less and return to their native villages,” said an investigating officer with the Central Crime Branch of the city police who cracked the case.
Krishnamurthy and his aide, Jeyarajasekaran (29), also a Sri Lankan, skilfully made the fake passports and visas using sophisticated machines and computers. “For a client seeking to illegally leave the country, the gang first delivers a passport within 15 days and then creates fake U.S., Canadian, U.K. or Schengen visas and tops it up with fake stamps showing entry into a European nation. Once the genuine visa is obtained from the embassy or consulate here, the fake visas are removed,” added the officer.
The kilis guide their clients through the entire process — from receiving a genuine visa using the fake passport till they clear immigration and fly out. Once they land at their destination, they get rid of the fake passport.
The fraud is orchestrated in connivance with some corrupt immigration officials who let the fake passports pass, police investigators insist.
Following the arrest, various embassies and consulates have approached the Office of the Commissioner of Police in order to gather information pertaining to their country.