The Maltese Foreign Affairs Ministry has begun its own investigation into the possible involvement of employees at the Maltese High Commission in India in a human trafficking ring that was broken up by the New Delhi police earlier this month, the ministry confirmed yesterday.

The case surfaced on 9 April when the New Delhi police announced it had cracked a human trafficking ring that was sending Indians to Malta and other European countries by obtaining Schengen visas procured from a New Delhi High Commission through the use of forged documentation.

Speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday yesterday, a ministry spokesperson confirmed that, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has initiated an investigation to examine whether any employees of the High Commission were implicated or involved.

“In such cases, the ministry will proceed with the necessary disciplinary procedures, irrespective of the investigation by the New Delhi Police.”

While the case is still under investigation by the New Delhi Police, the ministry adds that Malta’s High Commissioner to India, Wilfred Kenely, “intervened, spontaneously and personally, to provide any available information to the Delhi police authorities”.

With the exception of the High Commissioner himself, the ministry also confirmed that all employees at the High Commission were ‘locally engaged personnel’. Moreover, the foreign affairs ministry is also in the process of examining all the visas issued to ascertain whether forged documents might have been used in visa applications.

While New Delhi police statements did not indicate which High Commission it believed was involved in the racket, indications are that the Maltese High Commission in Delhi could be involved.

In a statement issued earlier this month, New Delhi additional police commissioner Neeraj Thankur said the ring had been “sending people to Malta and other European countries on the basis of Schengen visas obtained through fraudulent means” and that, in all, they believe the ring had obtained some 175 Schengen visas through a New Delhi High Commission over the last six to seven months alone.

The fraudulently obtained visas, according to the New Delhi police, were sold for between €12,000 and €13,500 each.

Explaining the ring’s modus operandi, the Indian authorities described how “they used to present the passports at a High Commission where their associates used to arrange the visas. The photocopy of the issued visa was then shown to the candidate who in turn used to make the second instalment of the agreed amount.

“Finally, the last instalment was paid at the time of handing over the passport with the affixed Schengen visa to the candidate.”

While the New Delhi police had not divulged which High Commission it believed had been complicit in the ring’s activities, the use of the term High Commission, as opposed to embassy, appears to signify that the country in question is a Commonwealth state. Malta is the only Commonwealth state in the Schengen zone and as such is the only Commonwealth country able to issue Schengen visas. Moreover, Malta was the only country mentioned specifically by the New Delhi police.