Ghaziabad, July 24 -- For almost a decade, you could head to a two-storey bungalow in Ghaziabad's Kavi Nagar, where 47-year-old Harsha Vardhan Jain was allegedly (fraudulently) acting as the envoy for the micronations of Westarctica, Seborga and Lodonia, and the fictitious country of Paulovia - the first three insignificant and controversial specs on the world map, and the fourth a "virtual micronation". But the conman's considerable luck ran out late on Tuesday after the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP-STF) arrested him from his rented accommodation in Ghaziabad. Police said that under the cover of a consulate, he allegedly undertook illegal activities, such as facilitating hawala transactions and helping domestic clients set up offshore companies and accounts. He also allegedly used his stature as an "envoy" to assure people that he could get them jobs and university spots abroad on cash payments, investigators said. "He used diplomatic number plates on his vehicles and morphed photos with prominent figures like the PM and President to impress people.His main activities included running a hawala racket through shell companies," said Uttar Pradesh additional director general of police (law and order), Amitabh Yash. Police recovered Rs.44.7 lakh from the premises and foreign currency with an exchange value of around Rs.30 lakh, four luxury cars, including an Audi and a Mercedes, 20 fake VIP registration number plates of diplomats, 12 fake passports, two PAN cards, 34 stamps of different countries, 12 premium watches, a laptop, a mobile phone, and other documents. A case was registered under sections 318(4) (cheating), 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security), and 340(2) (forged documents or electronic record) of the BNS at Kavi Nagar police station in Ghaziabad. "For the past few days, police were receiving tips from multiple sources that a fake embassy was operational in Kavi Nagar, and the suspect used to move in vehicles carrying VIP registration number plates of diplomats. He also installed flags of different countries on his cars and was involved in duping people by posing as an ambassador to these micronations," read the first information report filed by UP-STF sub-inspector Sachin Kumar. A team of 12 UP-STF officers raided the residence at KB-35 in Kavi Nagar around 11.30pm on Tuesday. Jain was allegedly appointed an advisor by Seborga in 2012 and an honorary consul by Westarctica in 2016, police said. He allegedly converted his office in an upscale Ghaziabad neighbourhood into a fake consulate by hoisting flags of different micronations he represented and using four luxury vehicles that illegally sported diplomatic registration plates. Additional superintendent of police (Noida STF) Raj Kumar Mishra said, "Jain was running the fake embassy in Ghaziabad since 2016. Earlier, he used to operate from his father's home at KB-45, but around five months ago, he, along with his family-wife and minor son-shifted to KB-35 at a rent of Rs.1.8 lakh per month, while his father stayed back at his home."...