In a startling development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has zeroed in on a businessman from the Khardaha area in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, who allegedly made around 900 trips to Bangkok over the past decade.

The man, identified as Vinod Gupta, a transport business owner, reportedly claimed that his frequent foreign travel stemmed from his spice-trade business and foreign‐exchange dealings. But officials believe things may be far more complex. According to the ED, the volume and frequency of these trips averaging nearly twice a week raised red flags and point to possible involvement in a larger fake‐passport and forex racket.

In their search of his home in the Narmada Awas apartment on BT Road, Khardaha, investigators found numerous documents which they describe as “important and suspicious”. These findings helped the agency map the unusual pattern of travel and currency exchange.

Why Bangkok? Officials say the destination features prominently in this investigation. The frequency of visits, and the nature of the businessman’s claimed ventures, are now being meticulously examined. Did he really travel for trade every time? Or were these trips a cover, a hand‐in‐glove arrangement with a network that facilitated fake passports and illegal currency flows? The ED appears to believe the latter.

This case also intersects with a broader probe into an alleged fake-passport racket operating out of West Bengal, one that involves middlemen, misuse of passport services, foreign nationals, and illegal forex operations. The businessman’s travel record may just be the tip of the iceberg.

For local residents and businesses, this story carries unsettling implications. A man travelling overseas hundreds of times, while operating a seemingly normal business, raises questions about the gap between visible enterprises and hidden networks. It raises broader concerns about how illegal financial flows and document fraud exploit real business fronts, and how enforcement agencies track them.

As the ED prepares to summon Vinod Gupta for questioning and delve deeper into the ledgers, travel logs and forex records, this case will test both the investigative machinery and the transparency of cross-border business practices. For now, the narrative is one of quiet suspicion, tens of thousands of miles travelled, and a man whose passport stamps may conceal more than they show.