Cracking down on a fake passport racket, the anti-passport wing of the City Crime Branch (CCB) arrested six travel and tour operators on Monday for their involvement in forging documents for passport applications. The arrests come nearly four months after immigration officials flagged a suspicious number of passengers carrying passports backed by fake documentation.
The arrested accused were identified as:
P Satish Kumar (46)
A Kalyan (40), who ran Sai Tours and Travels in Parasuraman Patti, Madurai
Nalla Mohammad (60), who operated Metro Studio and Travels at the Devakottai bus stand, Sivaganga district
Nasar Ali (47) and Faisal Rahman (29), both running separate agencies (JK Air Travels and Dheen-e-Service) from Othakadai, Devakottai
B Kumar (48), a travel agent from Samayanallur, near Madurai
The operation was led by CCB Inspector Sivamani, who organized surprise searches at multiple locations, including the suspects’ offices. During the raid, police seized:
54 passports
One laptop
Two desktop computers
Six mobile phones
Several forged documents and signed agreements between the agents and applicants.
Authorities said the accused allegedly used forged documents to help applicants secure passports illegally, targeting those unable to obtain travel documents through legitimate means.
Police are now investigating the scope of the racket, including whether any foreign travel had already occurred using these passports, and whether the accused were linked to human trafficking or illegal immigration networks.
The arrests highlight the increasing scrutiny being applied by passport authorities and immigration officials, especially following a spate of fraudulent passport-related cases in recent months across India.
