5 Afghan nationals held with forged travel documents

One of the arrested is suspected to be their carrier

Four Afghan nationals have been arrested at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport for possessing forged Finnish passports and Italian travel documents.

Another Afghan national was also arrested over suspicion of being their carrier, police said on Wednesday.

The accused have been identified as Ali Abasi alias Ahmed Nasir, Rahim Habibi alias Zargham Mohammad, Salehi Reze alias Mohammad Jawad, Hasen Jadeh alias Ahmad Fawad, and Torabi Mustafa.

“They were held from the international transfer departure wing of the airport after they arrived from Kabul-based airline KAM Air late on Monday night,” said R A Sanjeev, deputy commissioner of police (Indira Gandhi International Airport).

Scrutiny

“The five men were scheduled to catch an Air India flight to Paris. However, on scrutiny of their travel documents, it was found that Ali, Rahim, Salehi and Hasen were holding fake passports and visas,” he added.

Photograph changed

The photographs on Italian travel documents of Salehi and Hasen were changed.
“Ali, Rahim, Salehi and Hasen arrived in the national capital with Afghani passports, but a KAM Air official handed them over to Air India transfer desk with different names and passports as per their transfer slip. The role of the KAM Air official is also being investigated,” the official added.

Torabi’s Afghan passport and Italian travel document are genuine.
But he seems to be the carrier of the four men, as his e-tickets for the Kabul-to-Delhi flight and the connecting flight to Paris were booked from the same travel agent – Europe Travel and Tour – in Kabul and are in sequence.

No stamp

“His travel document also does not have either arrival or departure stamp of Kabul airport,” the official added.

A case has been registered against the five men at IGI Airport police station. They face charges under sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) and 419 (punishment for cheating by personation) of the Indian Penal Code and under section 14 of the Foreigners Act.