Mumbai: Sahar cops arrest man for trafficking two kids to the US

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Details of 49-year-old Imtiyaz Abdul Karim Muqadam's travel to different places from the Chhatrapathi Shivaji International Airport on an old passport, even though he had a new one, led the immigration department to put an end to his alleged illegal activities.

Based on the suspicion that he trafficked two kids to the United States on November 20, 2016, the Sahar police arrested him from his Jogeshwari residence on Wednesday, after the immigration department registered a case with them.

According to the police, on May 15, during scrutiny of his passport, the officials realised that Imtiyaz had travelled a number of times on his old passport though a new one had been issued to him on October 17, 2015. However, the officials briefly questioned him and allowed him to go. Further analysis of his travel documents revealed that on November 20, 2016, he had travelled to America from Delhi on a tourist visa. He had also taken two children, aged 15 and 10 years, with him. Sources said he had told the immigration officials that they were his own kids. However, on April 1, 2017, he returned to Delhi alone.

An investigation conducted by the Mumbai immigration department revealed that until March 2018, Imtiyaz's own children were attending school in Mumbai, which means they never travelled out of the city. Hence, the officials concluded that he might have taken other kids to America on his children's passports. Based on the findings, they registered a case with the Sahar police station in the first week of August under sections 370, 417, 419 and 420 of the IPC.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an officer of Sahar police station, said, "Imtiyaz was arrested from his Jogeshwari residence. After being produced in court, he was remanded in police custody. During interrogation, he revealed the name of two more accused. We are on the lookout for them. Further investigation is being carried out to find out more about the children and why they were taken to America."

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