First Oni-Dex passport & ID officials taken to court for trafficking Chinese

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Wednesday, May 28, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Miranda State 4th Control Judge has ordered the preventive arrest of Passport & Identification (Oni-Dex) official, Gladys Palacios Pinango and middleman Ilario Noguera Aponte for alleged trafficking of Chinese nationals.  

According to State Prosecutor David Palis, Miranda Police officers seized a pile of Chinese passports stamped with Oni-Dex seals and Oni-Dex director's signature, legalizing them to remain in Venezuela with transit papers and ID cards. 

• This is the first time that officials have been arrested for illegal transactions, even though it is an open secret that Chinese and Arabs pay high sums to legalize their situation. 

In fact,  even for Venezuelan citizens renewing ID cards or obtaining a Venezuelan passport, the process has become a "Chinese torture" in itself, unless you have money to spare.