KATHMANDU: Five Afghans and a Nepali national were arrested at Chennai airport, Tamil Nadu, in possession of fake passports yesterday. According to Press Trust of India (PTI), all the six passengers had arrived in Chennai via Nepal. They were allegedly trying to board a Malaysia bound flight when the local immigration officials detained them. Upon investigation, the Indian officials discovered their passports were forged. The incident created a stir at the Anna International Airport with the officials rushing in to interrogate them. Interestingly, the airport police had made the arrests although other security guards had let them go. Police said the 25-year-old Nepali, Sahara Subba Thebe, had collected $2,000, an equivalent of around NRS 15,000, from each of the Afghans to arrange for their passage to Malaysia. Thebe had met the Afghans -- Mohammad Hanif (29), Juma Khan (31), Ali Juma Khan (26), Ghayur Dahzada (26) and Abibullah (19) -- in New Delhi where they had landed 10 days ago with a hope of lucrative jobs in Malaysia. The Afghans were apprehensive that they might not be given visas for Malaysia because of their nationality. But Thebe arranged fake Nepali passports for them and brought them to Chennai on Saturday via Mumbai. In Chennai, officials were suspicious and held them when they were about to board an Air India flight to Malaysia. After ascertaining that the five had no terror links, the airport police registered a case of carrying fake passports against them. On interrogation, the Afghans admitted that a travel agent had procured them the fake Nepali passports against the payment of $1,200 per person. The agent had advised them to leave Chennai via Colombo, instead of New Delhi or Mumbai, when they visited Delhi three months ago on fake passports.