Two Indians board flight using fake immigration dept seals

CHENNAI: In a glaring security lapse, two Indian nationals took an Air France flight to Paris from here today after giving a slip to the Immigration department using fake seals to get clearance on their passports which was also fake.

Immigration authorities at the Kamaraj international airport said the duo had travelled on fake passports issued to two other persons -- one in Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu and one in Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The two had travelled in the names of Ahmad Maroof Ahmad Amin (Thanjavur) and Kiran Kumar (Vishakapatnam). They have initiated moves to detain the two passengers at Paris.

"The duo boarded the flight using fake seals of the Chennai Immigration department. This was quickly detected and we informed the flight crew about the duo having used fake immigration seals," Avi Prakash, immigration officer, said.

Since they gave the slip to immigration officials, details of their travel documents were not available. But the airline staff provided the names and passport numbers, he said.

"Because of this, the original passport holders will face some problems," the official said.

The Chennai--London--Paris Flight 201 reportedly took off without the mandatory certificate from customs and immigration departments, listing passengers cleared to board the flight.

Meanwhile, Customs authorities said they had just received the relevant papers. The matter would be adjudicated only after the airline gave an explanation and after receiving the reports of other government departments.

Customs officials clarified that officials of scheduled flights provide the passenger list even after the flight has taken off. In this case, it was not done, they said.

In all 264 of the 266 passengers and crew on board had received immigration and customs clearance.