Mumbai Airport Busts Fake Seaman Racket, Four Indians Arrested Trying to Fly Abroad

Immigration officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) have busted a major conspiracy involving forged documents used to travel abroad, arresting four Indian nationals in two separate cases. The accused were attempting to travel to the United Kingdom and Turkey by posing as seamen. Investigations revealed that all four planned to illegally settle abroad and seek asylum or other benefits, but were intercepted due to the alertness of immigration authorities.

According to the police, the first case was detected around 1.15 am on February 3, 2026. Immigration officer Mangesh Dilip Wakode stopped Himanshu Tyagi (35) from Meerut and Lakhwinder Singh (31) from Kapurthala, who were scheduled to board Swiss Airlines flight LX-155 to London via Zurich, on suspicion. During questioning, their responses were found to be unsatisfactory.

A detailed examination revealed that the e-migrate letters and ship joining letters produced by the duo were forged. The concerned shipping company, Sea Royal Ship Management Private Limited, confirmed via email that no such documents had been issued by them. Further probe revealed that Lakhwinder Singh had never worked as a seaman and that all sign-on and sign-off stamps in his Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC) book were fake. Himanshu Tyagi admitted that he had procured the forged documents with the help of one Pradeep Malhotra and an agent. Both accused confessed that they intended to reach the UK and stay there as asylum seekers.

The second case came to light in the early hours of February 5, 2026, when Assistant Immigration Officer Jarju Kumari, posted with the SIB Mumbai, intercepted Srinivasan Villendhi (39) and Durgesh Kumar Chauhan (28) at Counter No. 13. The two were scheduled to travel to Turkey by an IndiGo Airlines flight. No record of their e-migrate clearance was found in the immigration system.

During interrogation, the duo failed to provide details about seaman training or the company that had allegedly recruited them. Their ship joining letters, purportedly issued by Sea Royal Ship Management Private Limited, were also found to be forged. The accused disclosed that the documents had been arranged through agents based in Mumbai and Gorakhpur, and that they planned to illegally settle in Turkey.

Based on a complaint lodged by the immigration department, all four accused have been handed over to the Sahar Police Station for further legal action. Police are now probing the involvement of agents and possible international links behind the fake documentation racket. The cases highlight the growing menace of illegal immigration facilitated through forged seaman documents, prompting security agencies to step up surveillance and enforcement.