Two foreigners remanded over passport seal forgery

A court has placed two foreign nationals on a two-day remand after they were arrested at immigration while attempting to leave Bangladesh using forged arrival seals on their passports.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Manjurul Islam granted the remand on Saturday afternoon, February 28, following an application by the investigating officer.

The arrestees are Chimereok Magnus Uzoigwe, 26, and Frank Koffi, 29.

Investigation officer and Airport Police Station Sub-Inspector Saddam Hossain told the court that the accused appeared at counter 25 of the departure terminal to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight bound for Nigeria and Ethiopia respectively.

When immigration officers found the seals on their passports suspicious, the terminal in-charge was informed for verification. After verification, the OC Immigration sent them to the case complainant, Immigration Police Inspector ABM Nur Uddin, for necessary action.

Investigation revealed that the accused entered Bangladesh via India and that the Indian departure stamps on their passports were forged. The stamps they used to enter Bangladesh from India on July 20 and July 17, 2023, were not genuine.

The investigating officer informed the court that a five-day remand was necessary to uncover through whom and with the assistance of which international syndicate the accused entered Bangladesh using forged passport seals, and to identify their accomplices.

SI Md Abu Bakar Bhuiya of the Prosecution Division confirmed the matter.

Earlier on Friday at 4:50 pm, immigration police arrested the accused at the airport. The same day, police filed a case under several sections including passport forgery and cheating.