Hyderabad: 20 Women Arrested for Fake Visas at Airport
The investigators collected their mobile phones and passports and extracted phone numbers and WhatsApp groups linked to suspected agents. Andhra Pradesh police have been alerted for further verification.
Hyderabad:Twenty women from East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh were detained at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad, after they allegedly tried to travel to Muscat for jobs on fake Omani work visas, police said on Thursday. Police said the women arrived at the airport with luggage to board an Oman Air flight to Muscat. During routine immigration clearance, officials found that the Oman work visas stamped on their passports were fake.
CISF personnel, including women staff, reached the immigration counter, and the women were taken into custody along with their luggage. They were later handed over to the Airport Outpost police for questioning.
Police said the women were from seven villages in East Godavari district. Investigators are questioning them to identify the agents who allegedly arranged the jobs and visas and to determine how much money was collected from them. The police are also trying to find out whether these agents were part of a larger visa fraud or human trafficking network.
The investigators collected their mobile phones and passports and extracted phone numbers and WhatsApp groups linked to suspected agents. Andhra Pradesh police have been alerted for further verification.
Police suspect that interstate travel agents and recruitment gangs cheated the women in the name of overseas jobs. Four people from the city have been questioned about the agents’ whereabouts, police said.
A special team has been formed to identify and arrest those involved in forging the visas and placement letters. Police said they would coordinate with Andhra Pradesh and other state police and contact the Oman embassy and the employer to verify the documents.
Police urged people seeking jobs abroad to approach only officially recognised recruitment agencies and verify visas, employment contracts and travel documents before travelling. They also warned against trusting middlemen offering jobs abroad with attractive salaries.
A senior police official of RGIA disclosed that the women had tourist visas to Oman and Kuwait but officials found that their passports had fake work permit visas. Based on a complaint by immigration officials, RGIA law and order police booked cases.
