Two arrested for human trafficking
Two members of a human trafficking ring that targeted vulnerable individuals from Andhra Pradesh were arrested by the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) police and Shamshabad Special Operations Team (SOT).
Following a tip-off, Chilukuri Balaji, 43, and Sunkara Shiva Kumar, 30, were arrested from a hotel in Nampally. The police seized 14 tampered visas and passports, police clearance certificates (PCCs), 16 flight tickets, and other incriminating documents.
The scam came to light on May 13 following a complaint by Gandikota Venkata Ramana, a 38-year-old resident of West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, who stated that the Kuwait visa, issued on a tourist basis, was tampered with to conceal the real travel purpose. The complainant was one of eight women lured with promises of lucrative jobs in Kuwait, only to realise at RGIA that the passport had been illegally altered, showing a 'cancelled' visa stamp to mislead immigration officers.
Investigations revealed that Balaji and Shiva Kumar, both self-styled Gulf travel agents, were running a widespread network of sub-agents across Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai. Operating under Srinivasa Global Recruits, the duo forged travel documents, tampered with visas, and coordinated with medical diagnostic centres in Hyderabad to process pre-departure formalities. After collecting victim's passports, fraudsters also arranged accommodation near Nampally before transporting them to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport for travel.
Their modus operandi involved two levels - they stamped genuine work visas with a fake 'cancelled' imprint and paired them with tourist visas and round-trip tickets, to fool immigration at departure; second - they removed cancellation marks and presented original work documents, police clearance certificates (PCCs) and boarding passes at the point of entry in the Gulf countries. Victims were instructed to destroy all tourist-related documents mid-journey to avoid detection.
Balaji collected ₹5,000 and ₹8,000 from the victims in the form of fee for visa, medical clearances and flight bookings. Police also said that sub-agents paid as much as ₹60,000 per person, out of which the accused retained ₹5,000 to ₹8,000 as commission.
The scam exploited gaps in emigration protocols. While ECNR (Emigration Check Not Required) passport holders can travel with original work visas and PCCs, ECR (Emigration Check Required) holders require additional documents including a POE (Protector of Emigrants) clearance. The accused bypassed these regulations, sending people on tourist visas without job contracts or insurance, exposing them to exploitation abroad.
Further investigation and efforts to trace the remaining accused are underway.
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