Over 130 arrested in 2025 for visa and passport fraud at IGI

In a large-scale crackdown on visa and passport fraud, the IGI Airport unit of Delhi Police arrested more than 130 people in 2025, including travel agents and facilitators allegedly involved in illegal immigration networks operating across the country, police said on Saturday.

Police said the year-long operation targeted syndicates engaged in sending people abroad using forged visas, fake passports and manipulated documents. Apart from immigration-related fraud, the unit also intensified action against touts and baggage theft at the airport. More than 300 cases were registered against touts, leading to over 400 arrests, while around 60 people were arrested in cases linked to theft of passenger baggage and cargo. Ground-handling staff of airlines were questioned in several cases to trace possible internal links, police said.

Senior officers said the operation was different this year, as the IGI Airport unit, for the first time, focused on financial investigations to dismantle the economic backbone of organised fraud networks. Investigators traced money trails, identified suspicious banking activity and initiated action to seize properties believed to have been acquired using proceeds of crime.

Police said cases were referred to them mainly from the US, France, Canada, the Philippines and other countries, where agents had sent people on fake visas. Many passengers were unaware that they were being duped and realised it only after they were deported or arrested abroad, police said.

DCP (IGI airport) Vichitra Veer said one of the major challenges in these cases was large cash transactions. “We have still identified over 100 bank accounts linked to agents and frozen them after detecting suspicious transactions. In at least one case, authorities have already moved court seeking attachment of property under provisions related to proceeds of crime. Similar action is being prepared against other agents,” he said.

Senior officers said several arrested agents were repeat offenders, facing dozens of cases over the years. “They get bail in one to two years and again start their business,” an officer said, adding that agents actively targeted unemployed men and students in towns and villages.

Police said many accused owned multiple properties in Delhi and Punjab, which are now being identified and seized as part of the financial probe. “This is the first time we have systematically gone after the money trail in these cases. The objective is not just arrest but to ensure such activities become economically unviable,” Veer said.

The crackdown also extended to absconders. In 2025, the IGI Airport unit got 140 Look Out Circulars issued against accused attempting to flee the country and arrested 119 proclaimed offenders, including several wanted in decade-old cases.

According to police, agents charged exorbitant sums from victims, who often paid large portions in cash. “However, investigators found enough banking links, property transactions and intermediary accounts to build cases,” an officer said.