Graphic designer, engineer among 203 fake visa agents arrested this year: Cops

A graphic designer and an electrical engineer were arrested by the Delhi Police earlier this year for running a factory for producing counterfeit visas, permanent resident cards and holograms. They were among the 203 agents apprehended in 2024, up from 98 the previous year, police officials said on Monday.

In September, a passenger approached for immigration clearance intending to travel to Rome on a Swedish type C visa. However, upon the scrutiny of the documents, it was found that the visa was fake without any specific UV features, latent image and intaglio mark.

The police said during the interrogation, the accused passenger disclosed that he had arranged the visa from some boys in his village. The police later arrested three agents in connection with the case. Their apprehension further led the police to a 65-year-old agent, partially paralysed, who revealed that fake visas were arranged from another agent – Jaswant Singh – which led to Manoj Monga, a graphic designer an expert in the design and preparation of fake sticker visas for multiple countries and running his factory at his residence in Tilak Nagar.

“The factory had the ability to create counterfeit visas for destinations such as Canada, the United States, the UAE and European nations. High-quality imitation immigration stamps, including those used by foreign embassies, were recovered. These stamps were used to alter passports and create false travel histories. The raid led to the identification of several individuals involved in a nationwide network. Arrests were made across Delhi, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. The factory had state-of-the-art printing and engraving equipment, used to produce convincing counterfeit documents,” DCP (IGI Airport) Usha Rangnani said.

Eight agents were arrested from whom more than 800 fake sticker visas, rubber or metal stamps of various countries, specialised gumming sheets, lamination materials, watermark printing equipment and UV machines were seized.

Similarly, another such factory was busted in Haryana which was operated by an agent – Prateek Shah – an electrical engineer, the factory specialised in counterfeit PR cards, holograms and visas.

“The factory was operating from a concealed location, where a team of agents worked round the clock to process hundreds of fake documents each month. The fraudsters had connections in multiple states and were providing services to individuals from various backgrounds, including students, workers and tourists. Investigators uncovered a web of money laundering schemes used to funnel profits from illegal activities,” the DCP added.

The police arrested seven agents which was operating across Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana.

She further said that the arrests of 203 agents, including masterminds behind syndicates, demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach in addressing the root causes of the fraud.

“A total of 71 agents were arrested for operating fake visa rackets and 16 were arrested for using donkey routes. They used to exploit porous borders and visa-on-arrival policies to route passengers illegally through multiple countries,” she added.

The DCP also said that the police also revisited older cases where passengers were arrested, but agents had been evading and arrested 61 agents.

An official said the police, under the jurisdiction of the IGI airport, also arrested 56 proclaimed offenders, an increase from 24 in 2023.