In their biggest ever crackdown, police on Tuesday raided 22 educational consultancies and apprehended their owners on the charge of illegal operation and document forgery while sending students abroad on hefty fees.

The Metropolitan Police Crime Division, Teku held in custody owners of the consultancies—many of them sending students to Japan—based in Lagankhel, Bagbazaar, Putalisadak and New Baneshwor.

Senior Superintendent of Police Sarvendra Khanal, chief of the crime division, confirmed the arrests.

“The consultancies were operating without registration, luring students for abroad education illegally,” said SSP Khanal.

Sources at the MPCD said 69 passports were also seized from five consultancies. Police recovered 25 passports from Green Mountain Education Consultancy, Kupandole, 27 passports from East West Japanese Language, seven from Nice Education Consultancy, Putalisadak, four from Fortune Education Consultancy, Kupandole and six passports from Suvaru Consultancy, Lagankhel.

“The consultancies cannot hold passports.

This limits the students’ choices,” said a police source. “These people are acting like brokers.”

Another source involved in the raid said they had been investigating the consultancy business for a couple of weeks. Many consultancies had reportedly been forging their income and property documents while also evading taxes.

“In some cases, the consultancies issued fake certificates to students and their other clients,” said the source. “Some of them had been charging exorbitant service fees, up to Rs100,000 in case of students going to Japan.”

Police had focused their probe on the consultancies following the recent arrest of Gayatri Wagle of Dbest Educational Consultancy, Syuichatar, who had promised a job along with visa guarantees—a task beyond the capacity of an education consultancy. Wagle had duped Rs350,000 from a person with the fake promise of job in Thailand.

Problems originating from many illegal consultancies have been around for some time. Last year, the Australian High Commission denied visas to more than 2,000 Nepali students on the ground of illegal documents submitted for the visa process.

Prior to operation, consultancies have to be registered at the Company Registrar’s Office and then with the Education Ministry.

Only 133 consultancies have been registered with the ministry at a time when an estimated over 1,000 consultancies are operational in several cities and towns.

List of consultancies raided by police

Fortune Consultants Pvt. Ltd

3 AC Nepal

A to Z Institutes and Consultancy

New man

Sicas consultancy

Subaru consultancy Pvt.Ltd

Oasis Language Centre

Think Education

Subling Consultancy

Canon International Education Consultancy

Nice Education Consultants

Mirage International Pvt.Ltd

Global Education

Wave Language

Edify Educational Consultancy

Skyward Consultancy

Lotus flower International Education

Mission hall Education Consultancy

Pascal Pascal Techno & Education Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.

Secure Life Consultancy

Global education hub

East West Japanese Language