I am a master in India

Chapter 130 Passport Business
"The passport business isn't just about taking a few pieces of paper and following a template from a printer. It requires a keen eye and the confident, steady finger control of a surgeon."

Hela handed him a Canadian passport with a brand new gold-stamped pattern on the cover. Ron glanced through it but found nothing unusual.

"This is a light box." She pointed to a device on the long table that emitted a dazzling white light. There were several pieces of white opaque glass on the top of the box, and strong light shone from inside.

"In some underground factories, there are dedicated light box artists. They examine real passports page by page, looking for watermarks and hidden patterns. This allows them to replicate those effects wherever needed."

Hela took the Canadian passport from him and bent down to get into the light box.

"Come and see," she called.

Ron leaned over her shoulder to watch her work.

A complex set of wavy lines runs from the top of the page down, across the photograph, to the bottom of the page.

Hela found another passport from the side. It had nothing on it except the photo. She used a fine-point pen to draw the same wavy lines on the edge of the replaced photo. The exquisiteness of her technique amazed Ron.

After doing this, Hela used a light box to stack the two patterns on top of each other to check for any discrepancies.

"My fingers are steadier than a surgeon's," she said with a hint of complacency.

"Hela, I never knew you had this skill." Ron didn't even dare to breathe loudly, for fear of disturbing her slender fingers.

"Every foreigner who can live in Mumbai for a long time must have his own unique characteristics."

"That's right!" Ron praised softly, expressing his agreement.

Di Rang works as a hemp broker and is well versed in the underworld of Mumbai. Viraj is an excellent horseman, and his every performance draws loud applause from the audience.

Mary and Lena were even more of a mystery. Ron had no doubt that the two of them could easily take down seven or eight Indian policemen.

Hela also launched a big satellite at him today. What kind of geniuses are these people?

"When doing this kind of work, you can't be distracted, not even blinking." She sat there, bending over to examine it carefully.

Ron pressed close behind her, their thin shirts transmitting warmth to each other.

The temperature inside the light box was intense, and beads of sweat formed on the fur on Hela's neck. Ron's nose brushed against her ear, his hot breath mercilessly hitting her earlobe like a violent storm.

Hela's breathing became ragged, her hands unsteady, and her eyes fluttered slightly.

Ron playfully stuck out his tongue and licked her white ear gently.

Hiss! Hela shuddered, and the fine-print pen in her hand fell onto the passport.

"Hey, you made all my work last night go to waste." Her lips parted in a half-smile. Under the light box, her amber eyes were like pearls of reverie, watery and glistening.

Ron held her lips and took the initiative. This time he was no longer the one being attacked. Hunter and prey, the offensive and defensive forces were different.

Hela responded, unreservedly. The bright light made the sweat on her neck sparkle like stars, her skin a vast expanse of the night sky.

Ron pressed his lips to the night sky and licked the stars into his mouth.

He moved closer to her body, ready to take further action, but Hela extended her hand and pressed it against his chest.

"Not now." She pointed to the light box and the workbench, which was full of her hard work.

“Let’s continue talking about passports. What you’re seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg.” Hela took the opportunity to stand up.

Ron had to loosen his arms around her; they were tilted up, making it difficult for him to walk.

"Besides the lighting, another key to a passport is the engraving." She led him to another long table.

On a shelf behind the desk were rows of rubber stamps.

"A top-notch seal engraver can create any seal, no matter how intricate the design. Visa stamps, entry and exit stamps, special permit stamps—whatever the client requires, the engraver can do it.

See this new contour cutting machine? It's used to make seals. It cost me a fortune to have it imported all the way from Germany.

In order to get this machine through customs and into this studio without any problems, I asked the German Embassy to go to the palace twice, and it cost me twice as much in total.”

"Is it the time when you came back from Goa? Johnny said you took someone from the German Embassy to the palace." Ron asked.

“Yes, that time.” Hela raised her eyebrows, seeming a little surprised.

"Did you do all this by yourself?" Ron looked at the pocket-sized contour cutting machine curiously.

“I’m good at lighting and copying, and engraving is something I’m still learning.”

Hela found a blank rubber template and demonstrated how to carve a new seal. She copied the template from an enlarged photo of the original—the entry and exit stamps from Athens Airport—and carved the new seal using a scalpel and a jeweler's file.

After dipping the seal in ink and testing it, she discovered a few minor flaws. After repairing them, she used wet and dry sandpaper to sand off a corner of the seal.

These intentionally created flaws make the printed print appear natural and real on the paper.

Ron thought of the aging in the antique market. What Hela did had the same purpose as theirs.

The engraved stamps are placed on a shelf, waiting to be used when new passports are produced.

Hela showed Ron around the studio, which included a light box and a silhouette cutter, a computer, a copier, and a stock of special parchment and ink.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a small workshop that specializes in counterfeiting various passport visas.

"Making a clean American passport is very troublesome. You have to get the passport booklet first, then the stamps. Every step has to be perfect, without even the slightest mistake." According to Hela, she usually handles two types of passports: one is a genuine passport obtained from someone else and used, and the other is a blank, unused passport.

Used passports are stolen by pickpockets, lost by tourists, or bought from drug addicts who are desperate for money among foreign tourists.

Blank passports are very rare and can only be obtained from officials at consulates, embassies and immigration offices in many countries, including Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

Even though Hela had connections with embassy officials, the high price of a blank passport was still too much for her to afford.

Usually, as soon as this kind of thing appears on the market, it will be bought immediately no matter how high the price is.

The blank passports Hela came into contact with were all commissioned by other forces.

It is said that Khad Khan has a fireproof safe filled with genuine blank passports from various countries.

With enough patience, expertise and resources, Hela can alter almost everything on the passport to suit the new user's requirements.

She replaced her passport photo, using something as humble as a crochet hook to imitate the raised lines or jagged marks of a heavy stamp.

Sometimes the stitching on a passport is carefully removed and replaced with clean pages from another passport. Dates, details, and stamps are all altered or erased using chemical solvents.

When filling in new data, inks of the correct shade are selected from a comprehensive catalog of printing inks. Some alterations can deceive the expert eye and never be discovered during routine inspections.

"It's not enough to just make a passport, you have to make sure it's clean enough that you won't be arrested immediately upon arrival in the country that issued it."

"Is that what you said before, that we need the help of airlines and customs to screen passports?" Ron remembered the passport business they cooperated on last time.

"That's right. The connections and trouble involved are no less than creating a new blank passport."

Ron was amazed at the sophistication and complexity of this business. Like most people, he used to think that forging a passport was just a matter of changing a photo, just like in the movies.

But after visiting Hela's studio, I realized that the movie was very brainless.

“How is it? Is it an eye-opener?” Hela asked with a smile.

"It's really cruel!" Ron nodded.

The Criminal Code is not deceiving me. All the ways to make money are in it.

Forging a valid passport costs thousands of dollars. For passports from popular Western countries, it can cost tens of thousands, making the profit ridiculously high.

"Ask your Brazilian friend to prepare the corrupt officials' photos and information. I'll take care of the passports and hand them over to Khadhan's men for bleaching."

"You're working for Khad Khan?" Ron was surprised.

"Can anyone in South Mumbai's underground business do it alone without him?" Hela asked.

"Okay, I just... it feels so sudden."

Ron should have thought of it earlier. He went to Khadhan's house and met Ghani, who was in charge of the passport business.

This business must involve the cooperation of many people to open up all the channels from the airport to the customs.

Hela is responsible for forging passports, and someone under Ghani will take over a series of subsequent operations such as engraving, inspection, screening, and bleaching.

It's impossible for her to handle everything by herself, especially since she is a foreign woman.

Without the protection of local forces, Hela cannot do these things, and even her safety becomes a problem.

This also explains why Johnny knows Hela, as they both work for Had Khan.

Ron thought of himself again. Many of his businesses were also cooperating with Hadhan.

Anand once said that everyone in Mumbai knows Khad Khan, and this is not an exaggeration.

"If you want to live comfortably in Mumbai, you can't do it without money." Hela said that wise words.

"I agree." Ron agreed with this.

Even fresh water is a scarce resource here. Without money, you can't even take a shower or get running water at home.

"I studied art in the UK and also copied with pounds. I didn't expect that I could put this skill into practice in Mumbai. It's very interesting." She curled her lips and smiled mischievously.

"This business is more complicated than I thought. If you need any help later, just give me a call."

"Okay." Her eyes became gentle, no longer so calm.

"I need to talk to Luca. It's incredibly difficult for you to get a passport. He has to pay more!"

"How much?" She pursed her lips and suppressed her smile.

"At least $5. By the way, how much can you get from a deal?"

Ron had to shut up, he was the prey again. He had to focus on it and not let the pleasure slip away.

He put his arms around her and carried her into the outer bedroom, into a room filled with her scent.

The world is trembling and the soul is sublimating.

(End of this chapter)