Kochi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Monday arrested 17 travel agents here for allegedly securing emigration clearances for their clients using fake documents.

The travel agents were instructed by the CBI to come to Kochi Monday where they were taken into custody. Later, they were presented before the court, an official said.

There are widespread allegations of corruption against the city-based Emigration Office.

The CBI has been tracking the travel agents since 2006 when the then Emigration Officer Surya Narayana Rao was arrested. Since his arrest, the CBI was trying to bust the racket which includes travel agents and those in the recruiting industry.

The travel and recruitment industry in the state is booming as close to 2.5 million Keralites work abroad, of which close to 90 per cent are based in the Middle East.

 

Source : ians