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9 African nationals nabbed for passport fraud

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-12 20:40

FUZHOU -- Nine Nigerian citizens who were allegedly forging passports were detained by police in east China on suspicion of illegal entry and residence, local police said Tuesday.

Related readings:  Passport Law steps up to curb illegal emigration  Shanghai issues special "Tourist Passport"  China drafts law to standardize passport application

Police in Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian Province, raided the fake passport ring, including 10 Nigerians and one Ghanaian, on May 6. Nine members of the ring, all Nigerians, lacked valid identity documents.

Yusuf Olalekan Mustapha, a Nigerian national, was involved in another passport-forging case in the province, according to the Fujian provincial department of public security.

Xiamen police found many photos of foreign nationals, false documents and bank cards at the residences of the ring members.

Mustapha and eight other Nigerians without valid ID documents were detained on suspicion of illegal entry and residence, while the tenth Nigerian, Fuseini Haruna, and Ghanaian national Yusuf Idiyat Omolara were fined.

Police investigations against the nine detained are still in progress.