Muscat: The Royal Oman Police (ROP) have busted a forged visa racket with the arrest of four Asian expatriates, according to a press release issued by ROP today.
“We acted on a tipoff that some expatriates were selling fake visas and health certificates,” a spokesperson for the ROP’s Public Relations Department said.
The police liaised with the Public Prosecution Department to carry out an investigation before arresting the suspects.
“When the hideout was raided in Ruwi area of Muscat, we caught the accused red-handed with a computer system and peripherals used in the forgery operations,” he added.
Confronted with the evidence — a substantial amount of forged visas and certificates — the accused confessed to their crime.
The raid followed close on the heels of an arrest last week of an Indian who had travelled from Muscat to Delhi on a fake passport.
Mohammad Danaish, an Indian expatriate, had procured a fake passport to escape from his sponsor. He told police in New Delhi that he was forced to procure a fake passport in his name as his employer in Muscat had seized his original passport and had virtually held him captive there.
He also told Delhi police that he had paid around 1.400 Omani riyals (Dh13,311) to an agent from India’s southern state of Kerala.
Unfortunately for him the fraudsters handed him the fake passport of a man named Abdul Rashid, who was wanted by the police and a look out notice was issued against him.
The officials waiting at the arrival wing of Immigration at Indira Gandhi International Airport detained Danish on Saturday.
The Royal Oman Police have urged people to deal directly deal with government agencies and not outsiders for visa, health or any other official documents.
The police also appealed to residents to report any such attempt by individuals so that action can be taken against them.
