14 February,2023 09:32 AM IST | Mumbai | Faizan Khan
The police are trying to locate the agent who made the passport for the labourer
A labourer trying to get to Saudi Arabia for work using a fake passport was apprehended by the Sahar police at the international airport on Sunday. The 37-year-old man had previously been blacklisted by the UAE and deported to India. The police were alerted after immigration officers became suspicious about him.
According to the Sahar police, Meka Mallaiah reached the international airport on Sunday evening. He was to fly to Saudi Arabia on a business visa. At the immigration counter, however, the officers became suspicious about Mallaiah. They checked his details and questioned him on certain things. However, he was not able to answer properly.
"I informed my senior officers, and they found that he had travelled to Qatar once. He was blacklisted by the UAE after he got into a scuffle with his employer over his daily wages," the statement of the immigration officer who registered the FIR read.
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Immigration officials also told the police that while digging out his past, they found the details of Mallaiah's old passport, in which he was identified as Mykala Mallaih. Mallaiah had managed to find a job and also procure a visa for Saudi Arabia. "It appears that after getting blacklisted by the UAE, he got a new passport with the help of agents," an officer said.
The police are trying to locate the agent who helped Mallaiah get the new passport with the help of fraudulent documents. The crime branch had busted a similar racket and arrested multiple people engaged in making fake passports. Many of their clients managed to go abroad.
Mallaiah has been accused of cheating and forgery. He was produced in court on Monday and was remanded to police custody for further investigation.
Standfirst
Meka Mallaiah was to fly to Saudi Arabia on a business visa. At the immigration counter, however, the officers became suspicious about Mallaiah. They checked his details and questioned him on certain things. However, he was not able to answer properly.
