Agent arrested after 3 Punjab men are nabbed at Delhi airport for having fake visas, tickets to Spain

A man accused of trying to facilitate the illegal travel of three Punjab-based men to Spain using forged Schengen visas and fake tickets has been arrested by IGI Airport police, an official said on Sunday.

The three men were arrested at the Delhi airport after their documents and tickets were found to be fake. They had been promised jobs in Spain after paying Rs 17 lakh for the illegal travel.

Kamaldeep Singh (25), a resident of Amritsar, went into hiding after the trio's arrest but was later tracked and arrested from Kurukshetra, police said.

He was working with another agent, Sonu Walia, already arrested by Punjab Police, to send the trio abroad on fake documents, they added.

"On May 29, three passengers from Amritsar arrived at the IGI Airport to board a flight to Madrid. Airline officials flagged their tickets as fake and referred their documents to immigration authorities. The Schengen visas on their passports were confirmed to be counterfeit by a Swiss liaison officer," said the official.

Schengen visa allows people from non-EU countries to enter Schengen countries (all in Europe) and permits free travel across borders within it.

Following a complaint, an FIR was lodged and an investigation was ordered. Kamaldeep had promised the three jobs in Spain and charged them Rs 17 lakh in total.

Kamaldeep went into hiding but was tracked and apprehended by the police. Efforts are under way to formally arrest Walia, now lodged in Gurdaspur jail, and investigate the wider network, police said.