Mumbai: 74-year-old man from Gujarat held for human trafficking

A 74-year-old man was apprehended on Friday by immigration authorities at Mumbai international airport and handed over to police for alleged involvement in human trafficking, an official said.The official identified the accused as Chittaranjan Dave, a resident of Ahmedabad in Gujarat who is accused of sending 18 people illegally to UK and other parts of Europe in the last seven years, and said he was stopped when he was proceeding to Mauritius.While checking his passport, immigration authorities realised there was a lookout notice against him.

A 74-year-old man was apprehended on Friday by immigration authorities at Mumbai international airport and handed over to police for alleged involvement in human trafficking, an official said.

The official identified the accused as Chittaranjan Dave, a resident of Ahmedabad in Gujarat who is accused of sending 18 people illegally to UK and other parts of Europe in the last seven years, and said he was stopped when he was proceeding to Mauritius.

''While checking his passport, immigration authorities realised there was a lookout notice against him. The lookout notice described Dave as a suspected human trafficker who should be thoroughly questioned,'' he said.

''During questioning, he confessed to sending 15 persons from Gujarat to Europe. Photographs and documents of three persons were found in his phone. He told us these three were sent to England on August 3 after showing them as employees of his firm Nirbhay Impex,'' the official said.

Dave has been handed over to Sahar police, who have registered a case against him under section 370 of Indian Penal Code, the official added.