Police have arrested a group involved in preparing fake documents to send people abroad on visit visa.
The Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office on Sunday made public nine persons arrested on different days.
Jayaram Shrestha, 45, of Nawalpur, Bhakta Bahadur Thapa, 34, Bipin Dhakal, 29, and Ajit Phewali, 23, of Gorkha, Ashish Shrestha, 30, of Udayapur, Jeev Raj Tamang, 28, of Kavre, Cyrus Bisankhe, 23, and Deepak KC, 38, of Kathmandu, and Bal Bahadur Rawat, 42, of Salyan have been arrested in the case.
The police also arrested four more persons on Sunday on top of that but have yet to reveal their identities.
A police officer involved in investigation has said that the scam was revealed when a few persons reached the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on October 29 to travel to Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and other countries on visit visa. "There were also a few who were going to join the Russian Army. The gang came to the fore as a few former Nepal Army men were also trying to go. There were also some going to Ukraine. But more were going to Russia," the officer has added.
Documents of a total of 296 persons were found to be fake during the course of investigation. They had genuine passports, but fake educational certificates, character certificates and labor permits.
The racket did not meet the clients in person and payments were made through QR codes. Ride-hailing service was used to deliver the fake documents to the clients.
The police reached the racket through former Nepal Army soldier Sushil Bhandari who was going to Russia.
Jayaram Shrestha was the ringleader of the racket, according to the police, that collected up to Rs 200,000 from the clients for the fake documents.
