Israel: Officials have confirmed that almost twenty four Indians who were taken into custody by the immigration officials of Israel last month are seeking refugee status in the country, a facet which would allow them to reside in the country on a temporary basis. These people have been accused of tampering with visa documents and their involvement in such rackets.

When they were cross-examined on these facets, a majority of them confirmed that they gave a healthy amount of two lakh rupees to a visa consultant in India. In return, he granted them a good employment in Israel.

An Israeli agency made all the arrangements for their visas on the basis of which they visited Israel after coming from Bethlehem. Their previous destination was Jordon, the same has been confirmed by Yehuda Ben Ezra, who is the head of the Immigration Oz department.

Ben also confirmed that once these people realized that their tourist visas would expire and they have given a fake promise for getting an employment in Israel, these people knew where they had to turn in order to extend their visas. They reached Lod to have refugee status on the basis of political grounds. The surprising part is that a majority of them had the right documents to claim their refugee status, while those who didn’t have are alleged to have been hidden somewhere in Israel as undocumented people.

This case is a perfect example of the presence of illegal visa agents all over the world.