Mangaluru: A person has been arrested in Mangaluru International Airport for holding passports of 26 people. According to police sources, Abdullah Pallakan, who hails from Taliparambu in Kerala and is working at Dubai, was taken to custody at the Airport on Tuesday night while on his way to Dubai. It is said that a travel agency at Dubai wanted to send 26 people (24 Indian nationals and 2 US nationals working in Dubai) on Haj pilgrimage, but could not make arrangements to send them. “The agency has a branch at Kanhangad in Kerala. Abudllah was sent by the agency to Kanhangad with the 26 passports to make arrangements for Haj pilgrimage from here at a cheaper rate. He landed at Kozhikode on August 5 and went to the agency at Kanhangad. As the agency authorities there told Abdullah that the package was exhausted and they could not make arrangements for the 26 people, he was taking all the passports back to Dubai,” police sources said.
Abdullah has been arrested and the case has been handed over to CCB. As this is considered violation of Passport act, Mangaluru police have booked case under Section 12(1) of Indian Passports Act. Police are also investigating the possibilities of travel fraud.
