Kid Smuggling Gang to America arrested from Bengaluru

Feb 09 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai) Gang smuggles 32 kids to US, held Bengaluru TIMES NEWS NETWORK   City police have busted a 16-member gang that smuggled at least 32 children to the US using fake parents and fraudulent documents. The 16 people, including three women, were arrested during coordinated raids across the city in the early hours of Monday , police said. The gang, which operated out of Bengaluru and had tentacles spread across the country, allegedly obtained US visas for children using fake parents. The couples would take the kids to the US and return within a few days leaving them behind. The arrests were a culmination of a year-long investigation that began with a tipoff to Bengaluru police. During initial interrogation, the kingpin, Uday Prathap Singh,44, claimed they were facilitating illegal immigrants living in the US to take their children there. Police are not ready to believe his claims and are probing further to explore any involvement of child traf icking gangs or organ harves ers. Police are yet to know the whereabouts of the smuggled children. Police officers said here would be more arrests since it is unlikely that the same couple would have travelled several times to smuggle out so many children. “While we cannot comment on the course of ongoing investiga ions, the US Consulate General, Chennai, takes seriously all allegations of fraudulent visa applications and we are work ng closely with Bengaluru au horities regarding this al eged human smuggling ring,“ said the spokesperson of US Consulate General Chennai.