Luxury cars, diplomatic passports and morphed pictures: Fake embassy busted in Delhi, 'Londonia envoy' held
PTC News Desk: In a shocking incident, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) have busted a fake embassy in Ghaziabad operating out of a rented bungalow. The alleged mastermind Harsh Vardhan has also been arrested from the spot.
Harsh Vardhan was running a fake embassy of 'Westarctica', a micronation founded by a US Navy Officer but not recognised by any sovereign state. He is accused of running a job racket to lure people with work abroad and was also allegedly part of a money laundering network.
He falsely claimed to represent other self-styled micronations like Saborga, Poulvia and Lodonia while posing as their ambassador and flaunting luxurious cars with diplomatic number plates to signify legitimacy to his operations.
The STF official swung into action after receiving credible inputs followed by raids at Harsh Vardhan's premises and subsequent arrest. The officials said that he used morphed images with global leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and several other heads of states, projecting himself as a powerful diplomat.
The STF officials have recovered four-high end cars bearing diplomatic number plates, diplomatic passports of 12 micronations, documents with stamps of the External Affairs Ministry, stamps of 34 nations, Rs 44 lakh in cash, foreign currency.
Notably, days before the UP STF busted the fake embassy, the official Instagram handle of Westarctica had shared photos of its "Consulate-General in New Delhi".
"Managed by Baron HV Jain, Westarctica's Consulate-General in New Delhi has been operational since 2017. In addition to representing Westarctica's interests in India, Baron Jain also distributes food to the local population 5 times per year, serving over 1,000 people in need," the caption read.
- With inputs from agencies
