Bangladeshi illegal immigrant arrested in fake passport and money laundering case turns out to be a Pakistani: Here’s what ED told court

Days after an illegal immigrant named Ahammed Hossain Azad was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from Birati in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, it turns out that he is a Pakistani national. Azad was arrested by the ED officials on 15^th April 2025. Now, the probe agency has revealed that the illegal immigrant was residing in India on a fake Bangladeshi passport.

The 53-year-old Pakistani national posing as a Bangladeshi was in touch with his associates. Operating as per the instructions he received from his associates in Pakistan, Ahammed Hossain Azad was preparing forged documents. The Enforcement Directorate told the court that accused Azad was involved in money laundering as well.

The probe agency has found transactions of Rs 2.6 crore so far. The ED officials suspect that this amount was collected through issuing fake passports and forged documents for illegal immigrants.

Initially, the Pakistani national somehow convinced the ED officials that he was from Bangladesh’s Feni district, however, they began suspecting his nationality after examining his WhatsApp chats and call records.

“He tried to hoodwink us by suppressing his actual origin. He mentioned his two sons and his wife in Bangladesh. But an investigation revealed that the accused was from Pakistan. He had sneaked into Bangladesh and managed to get a Bangladeshi passport in 2017 in the name of Ahammed Hossain Azad,” TOI quoted an ED officer as saying.

According to the Enforcement Directorate, Ahammed Hossain Azad entered India on a tourist visa in 2019. He also managed to obtain Aadhaar, voter ID card and a passport. The real name of the accused is Azad Hussain. He got a Bangladeshi visa in 2017, where he assumed a new name, Ahammed Hossain Azad, and when he entered India, he changed his name to Azad Mallik.

The investigators said that the accused had consistently been in touch with his accomplices in Pakistan. Moreover, right after obtaining his fake Indian identity documents, Azad began spreading his network across the country.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani national also contacted several agents across India. He helped illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to get visas to India and other countries. He is also reported to have opened a company as a façade for his illegal activities.

 “It is clear that Azad was engaged in money laundering, and his operations were a threat to national security. Another fraud case has been registered against him by the ED,” ED’s lawyer Bhaskar Prasad Banerjee informed the court.

The court has remanded the Pakistani national in ED custody till 8^th May 2025.

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