The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday July 8, conducted raids at 11 locations in Punjab and Haryana in connection with the “Dunki Route” case. The searches were carried out in Punjab’s Amritsar, Sangrur, Patiala, and Moga; and Ambala, Kurukshetra, and Karnal in Haryana, as part of the probe into the money-laundering angle.
The travel agents involved allegedly duped people aspiring to go to the U.S. with the promise of sending them with a valid legal visa and facilitating their air travel through legal channels. They would then illegally send them on an arduous journey via multiple countries, including Spain, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. They charged about ₹45-50 lakh per head from the victims.
“However, the agents used to dupe innocent persons as they were sent through illegal routes (Dunki Route) by crossing the borders of many countries illegally through dangerous/jungle routes under the influence of donkers (human trafficking conduits) and the mafia,” reported National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The agents in collusion with donkers and the mafia, created a threatening situation for the individuals and their families in order to extort more money from them, few statements by deportees were recorded by ED and further examination of facts revealed names of suspects, which were being covered in the recent search, ED reported.
According to the agency, the investigation is based on 17 first information reports registered by the police in Haryana and Punjab against the travel/visa agents and middlemen who cheated various persons willing to go to the U.S.
Earlier this month, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two alleged human traffickers linked to the notorious “U.S. dunki route” following searches at two locations in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. The accused have been identified as Sunny, also known as Sunny Donker, from Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh), and Shubham Sandhal, alias Deep Hundi, originally from Ropar (Punjab) and currently residing in Peeragarhi (Delhi).
According to the NIA, the two were close associates of Gagandeep Singh, who was arrested in March based on a complaint filed by a victim trafficked to the U.S. via the illegal ‘dunki’ route and deported back to India in February this year. Gagandeep, a resident of Tilak Nagar in Delhi, was charge-sheeted in the case on June 27.
Hundreds of Indians who risked everything to reach the United States via the perilous 'Dunki Route' were deported just days after Donald Trump won the presidential election.
Their journey was harrowing, through dense jungles, unruly temperatures, and treacherous terrain. They faced the constant threat of death all in pursuit of the American dream. But that dream was short-lived. Within weeks of arriving in the U.S., they were apprehended by authorities. On February 5, 104 of them were flown back home handcuffed, on a military aircraft.
