AMN / Ghaziabad / Lucknow
In a sensational crackdown, the Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Task Force (STF) has busted a fake “embassy” operating from a residential building in Ghaziabad and arrested a man masquerading as a diplomat of a fictional nation called “West Arctica.”
The accused, Harsh Vardhan Jain, a resident of Kavi Nagar, was taken into custody on Tuesday by the Noida unit of the STF. Jain had been running the bogus consulate from a rented house, complete with counterfeit diplomatic paraphernalia, vehicles with fake number plates, and fraudulent identity cards portraying him as an ambassador.
According to STF officials, Jain projected himself as a representative of non-existent “micronations” including West Arctica, Saborga, Poulvia, and Lodonia. He allegedly lured individuals and companies with promises of lucrative job placements abroad and is also suspected of operating a hawala network through shell companies.
Investigators revealed that Jain used morphed images of himself with prominent national leaders such as the Prime Minister and the President to build credibility and dupe people. His operation included fake documents bearing seals of the Ministry of External Affairs, 12 forged diplomatic passports, 34 rubber stamps from various fictitious entities, and even fake press credentials.
Additional Director General of Police Amitabh Yash said the STF recovered ₹44.7 lakh in cash, foreign currency, 18 fake diplomatic number plates, documents linked to several dubious companies, and four vehicles fitted with false diplomatic tags.
Jain’s criminal record also includes past associations with controversial figures like godman Chandraswami and arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. Notably, in 2011, he was booked for possession of an illegal satellite phone.
An FIR has been filed at the Kavi Nagar police station, and investigations are ongoing into the scale and reach of this audacious fake diplomacy racket.