For those traveling abroad, here are some words of caution that can spell the difference between a pleasant and a nightmarish trip. A copy of this advisory was sent to me today by my son’s friend who works in the United Arab Emirates. The advisory sounds somewhat alarmist, but it’s better to heed it and be careful than to ignore it and put oneself at great peril.
Be careful at the airports. There is a well-organized conspiracy by some unscrupulous immigration, police, customs, and airline staff who network with their counterparts at other international airports.
So be careful when you give your passport to immigration/customs/airline staff. The passport can be easily tampered with and can create trouble to you. The bad elements among them have found an easy way of making money from foreign travelers.
This is the way it works:
At the time of the passenger’s departure, if the passenger is not looking at the officer while he is stamping the “Exit” mark on the passport, the officer may very cleverly tear away a page from the passport. When the passenger leaves the immigration counter, the case is reported on his computer terminal with full details. Now all over the world their contacts would get full details about the passenger with “red flag” flashing on the passport number entered by the departure immigration officer. They are then ready to make their money through this scheme.
On arrival next time, the passenger with the passport that has a missing page is interrogated. Subject to the passenger’s period of stay abroad, his income, and social standing, etc., the unscrupulous police and immigration people will then name the price to get the problem settled. If the victim argues, his future will be spoiled because there are always some innocent fellows who think that honesty is the basis of getting justice.
So every passenger is advised to be careful at the airports. Whenever they hand over their passport to the counters of airlines or to immigration or customs staff, they must be vigilant. They should not remove their eyes from the passport even if the officer in front tries to divert their attention.
Every month, 20-30 cases like this happen all over the world to rob the passenger the minute he lands. A case like this happened to Aramco’s Arifuddin in Pakistan. He was traveling with his family and they had six passports. They had American visas and decided to travel to the United States via Jeddah. When they reached the US, the page of the American visa on his wife’s passport was missing. At the time of their departure from Pakistan they were sure it was there, but since it was now missing, the whole family became helpless upon their return to Pakistan. On arrival there, they were apprehended by the police because of that missing page of the American visa. Two months later, they were still running after the police and immigration officers through the local courts.
