Four African nationals arrested for forging visas

Delhi Police have arrested four African nationals from Burari for allegedly forging visas for overstaying foreigners and duping Indians through online scams, officials said on Monday.

According to the police, the accused created fake social media profiles posing as Europeans and tricked victims with fabricated stories about goods stuck at customs. They persuaded people to transfer money into compromised bank accounts, later withdrawing the funds through ATMs or routing them through multiple accounts to hide the trail.

The arrests came during a follow-up investigation into a case registered on September 10, in which two African nationals were caught with 355 g of cocaine in Chhattarpur. During verification, the police found their visas to be forged.

Interrogation led investigators to an associate, identified as Nwachukwu Benjamin, who was allegedly arranging fake visas from a house in Chandra Vihar, Burari. A raid at the location resulted in the arrest of Benjamin (33), Emmanuel Ifeanyichukwu (34), Paul Olisameka (37) and Precious Osasere (38) — all Nigerian nationals residing in India illegally after their visas had expired. The police seized a laptop, a colour printer, three pen drives, seven mobile phones, two bank passbooks, five ATM cards, six forged passports and visas and Rs 17,000 in cash from their possession.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ankit Chauhan said a preliminary probe revealed that Benjamin had entered India illegally in 2017 and was producing fake visas for African nationals who had overstayed their permitted period. He allegedly scanned passports and forged visa pages, charging Rs 2,000–3,000 per document.