Cyberabad cops bust human trafficking racket, nab 18

Two gangs namely Manikantha gang and Pushpa gang were operated from Kadappa and West Godavari districts respectively. 
People accused of tampering documents to facilitate overseas travel | Express
People accused of tampering documents to facilitate overseas travel | Express

HYDERABAD: An international human trafficking racket operating from Telangana and AP was busted by Cyberabad police on Wednesday wherein 18 people, including a police constable from Chevella police station, were arrested for tampering with passports, making fake visas, forging documents to take uneducated people, mostly women to Kuwait on visiting visas.

Two gangs namely Manikantha gang and Pushpa gang were operated from Kadappa and West Godavari districts respectively.  They are also reports that some members of the staff at the Immigration counter in the airport too have direct or indirect links with the racketeers.

Not only did they set up an elaborate network to lure gullible people but also ensured a full proof network that ensured their safe passage to Kuwait. All this at the cost of lakhs of rupees which the persons seeking a livelihood paid.

Cyberabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar told reporters on Wednesday that the members of the trafficking gang approached women intending to take up domestic or housekeeping jobs in Gulf countries. They lured them with baits of job visas and collected money from each woman.

‘’In order to avoid the legal channel, unlicensed illegal travel agents adopted illegal methods by changing the employment visa as visit visa and created fake visit visas,” the Commissioner said.

The women were told to conceal the job visa or work permit papers (looking like the original one) before boarding the flight. Presenting the visit visas, the women used to board the flights to Kuwait. After landing there, they submitted the job visa and would come out of the airport. Airline personnel were bribed to issue boarding passses by issuing fake return tickets.

Though the police managed to crack down on the elaborate network, as many as 100 members are still absconding.  

Investigators also noticed that if the woman fails the mandatory physical fitness test for Kuwait visa, the gang flies them to Sri Lanka where the required certificates are arranged by the gang’s associates. From there, they are flown to Kuwait.

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