Jeddah, Dec 19: Officials at King Abdulaziz International Airport uncovered 60 cases of forged documentation last year at the facility, mostly involving entry visas to European countries, an official said.
Mansour Al-Jifri, director of the airport’s document authentication unit, told Arab News there were cases of impersonation, passport forgery, and attempts to use stolen or illegally issued documents.
The transit passengers caught perpetrating these acts at Jeddah airport were sent back to their points of departure with a telegram outlining their violations. Those caught trying to fly from Saudi Arabia were handed over to the Passports Department.
Al-Jifri said there were hundreds of incomplete and expired documents detected by his unit that forms part of the passenger service administration.
“The unit checks the validity of travel documents and their compatibility with the requirements of the destination country.”
He said some people forged documents to get away from “unrest, sectarian violence and poverty” in their home countries.
He said the unit’s staff members are trained to keep abreast of the latest developments and technologies and regulations of other countries.
Saudis, he said, are rarely caught forging travel documents.
“I remember one case when a Saudi family changed the date of expiry in their UK visa. They were referred to the police at the airport.”
He said officials arrested some people for impersonation.
“A man with a British travel document tried to have his mother and sister travel to the UK with passports belonging to other members of the family with similar features.”
The fingerprint system plays a major role in discovering forgery, especially in cases where a twin tries to travel using the passport of the other twin.
“However, this system is under the jurisdiction of the passports department and not the document authentication unit,” he said.
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