BENGALURU : Foreigners in India who have been arrested for their involvement in criminal activities have also been booked under the Passport Act after law enforcement agencies found that their passports were fake. According to sources, in the two recent contraband drug haul cases in the City by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
"The passport of two Nigerians, B Onovo and C Okwor, who were arrested last month under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for allegedly smuggling pseudoephedrine, a controlled substance, were reportedly fake," said a source.
The source added that in the recent drug bust case involving smuggling of MDMA and cocaine, the passports and even visas of the two accused Kenyan nationals, Ramla Shedafa Nancy and Emmanuel Michael, were allegedly fake. "They have no official documents and have been living in a rented house in Bengaluru North without a rental agreement," said the source.
"This is a grey area where law enforcement agencies find it difficult to bring foreigners who are involved in crime in India, to justice. When they are arrested for a crime and later enlarged on bail on condition that they will not leave the country, they move cities and continue with criminal activities. It is difficult to track their movement and even more difficult to get them deported to their country in the absence of legal documents such as a valid passport," said another officer.
Of late, in Karnataka, the detention centre for illegal immigrants in Sondekoppa village near Nelamangala is being used to lodge such foreigners, who have been caught on the wrong side of the law, including living in India with long-expired visas. "There were eight foreigners lodged in the detention centre, four of whom have been repatriated to their country," said another officer.
"One Sudanese, one South Sudanese, a Tanzanian and a Kazakh national have been sent back. Four illegal immigrants, including three Bangladeshis and a Congo national, are at the centre awaiting deportation," said the officer.
The Foreigner Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) under the Ministry of Home Affairs,is empowered under Section 3 of the Foreigners Act to restrict foreigners who are living in contravention of passport and visa rules, those who are not registered with the FRRO or are involved in criminal cases, and are facing deportation after the completion of court proceedings.