CHENNAI/COIMBATORE/PUDUCHERRY: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday searched six places and arrested two people in Tamil Nadu and one person in Puducherry in connection with trafficking of Bangladesh and Myanmar nationals into India and providing them with fake Aadhaar cards and local credentials.
The searches were part of a nationwide raid carried out at 55 locations in 10 states and union territories, including Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka, Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir.
In Tamil Nadu, the searches were carried out in Pallikaranai, Perumbakkam and Padappai in Chennai and Tiruvallur, Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts. “We received information about human trafficking networks involved in bringing migrants through the Indo-Bangladesh border into India and helping them find jobs with fake identity cards,” NIA sources said. They were brought primarily through the northeastern states of West Bengal and Assam, the investigation agency sources said.
In Tiruppur, the searches were conducted at three garment units near Palladam based on information about identity fraud and illegal employment. Several documents of migrant workers were also seized during the operation, sources said. In a joint operation with the Puducherry police, NIA sleuths conducted a series of raids and arrested a man identified as Babu (26).
NIA seizes Rs 20L, $4,550 in search op
The suspect from Kolkata, who has been living in Puducherry and TN, was taken into custody after the search operation at a warehouse near Rajiv Gandhi WCH, Ellaipillaichavady.
Local police, upon verifying his Aadhaar card, found no legitimate records associated with the name, raising concerns about the authenticity of the card. One iPhone, Aadhaar cards, and several documents were also seized during the operation, sources said.
Sources said the NIA team came to Puducherry in search of Babu after he was named as an accused in a case.
After conducting the raid, the officials interrogated the suspect regarding the details of individuals he had brought into the country.
In September, a Special Task Force of Assam Police registered a case on trafficking networks responsible for infiltrating illegal migrants, including those of Rohingya origin, through Indo-Bangladesh border. Subsequently, human trafficking cases were registered at NIA branches in Guwahati, Chennai, Bangalore and Jaipur and multiple searches were carried out in each location. The NIA also seized phones, SIM cards, pen drives, fake Aadhaar and PAN cards, Rs 20 lakh in cash and $4,550 during the search on Wednesday.
Assam cops booked case in September
In September, Assam police registered a case against trafficking networks responsible for bringing illegal migrants into the country via the Indo-Bangladesh border. Later, trafficking cases were registered at NIA branches across India