In yet another case, immigration officials caught a man from Telangana, who had gone to Malaysia two years ago on a visit visa and returned with a fake immigration seal from Malaysian authorities last week.
The accused, Mohammed Razi, 25, a resident of Nizamabad, told officials that he had paid ₹1.8 lakh to a local tout, Sheikh Sameer Alam from Bengaluru, to get employment in Malaysia. Sameer sent him to Malaysia on a tourist visa asking him to meet one Raja Pratap Singh.
Soon after landing in Kuala Lumpur, Razi met Singh, who employed him as a labourer and arranged his accommodation for two years illegally for a price. After two years, Razi had earned enough and wanted to return. Singh helped him with a fake visa and return ticket.
The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) police, who have now taken up a case against Razi and others, under cheating and various sections of the Passport Act, 1967, suspect that Razi was part of an international racket where touts are sending labourers and unskilled workers to Malaysia.
The touts in Malaysia arrange their accommodation and employment illegally for a service charge. They also arrange a fake visa whenever illegal immigrants want to return.
In a similar case last week, the officials caught Rasool Khan, 43, a businessman from Bengaluru, while he was trying to board a flight to Kuala Lumpur from KIA.
Rasool Khan claimed that he was a businessman and travelled to many countries frequently on a business visa. However, upon verification, immigration officials discovered that Khan had visited Nigeria and China earlier with a fake visa stamping.
He told the officials that he had visited Malaysia this January on a business trip and wanted to live there permanently. He had contacted a local agent, Sunni, and paid 40,000 ringgit (Malaysian currency) to get a permanent residential visa. Sunni got the visa, asked Rasool to return to Bengaluru and come back to Malaysia after two months.
In the last month, immigration officials have caught as many as 15 people travelling with fake Malaysian visas.