More than 30 Indian youths disappear in New Zealand (Roundup)

Jul 14, 2008, 21:23 GMT

Wellington - More than 30 young Indian Catholics who have disappeared during a week-long transit stop in New Zealand may have fallen for an immigration scam, according to a news report on Tuesday.

The 32 Indians were stopping over in New Zealand on their way to Sydney for Catholic World Youth Day events being attended by Pope Benedict XVI this week, but have reportedly left their host families and gone to ground in Auckland.

Daljit Singh, a Sikh spokesman and justice of the peace, told Radio New Zealand he understood that at least 12 of the missing young people had paid 500,000 rupees to agents in India who told them they could stay in New Zealand after entering the country with the Catholic group.

Singh said he understood more members of the group planned to try to stay in Sydney after the week's events.

The 32 were part of a party of 220 Indian Catholics who arrived in Auckland a week ago to be billeted with church members in Auckland under a so-called Days in the Diocese programme before going to Australia.

All were due to fly to Sydney on Tuesday but were given routine tourist visas allowing them to stay in New Zealand for 30 days.

Immigration officials said they would not be in the country illegally until their visas expired, but wanted to see them stick to their original travel plans.

They said they were working with the Catholic Church in New Zealand to try to trace the missing people and were also in touch with immigration officials in Australia.

A church spokeswoman, Lyndsay Freear, dubbed the news 'shocking' and said, 'As far as I know nobody in the church would have any inkling that anything like this was happening.

'It appears World Youth Day has been used as an excuse and that is really quite alarming.'