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ED raids travel agents in Punjab, Haryana in donkey route case
Offices and houses of suspects and agents in 11 cities, including Amritsar, Sangrur, Patiala and Moga in Punjab and Ambala, Kurukshetra and Karnal in Haryana, are being raided under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches in multiple cities of Punjab and Haryana as part of a money-laundering investigation into a ‘donkey route’ case related to illegal immigrants who were deported by the US earlier this year, official sources said.
Offices and houses of suspects and agents in 11 cities, including Amritsar, Sangrur, Patiala and Moga in Punjab and Ambala, Kurukshetra and Karnal in Haryana, are being raided under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.
The money-laundering case stems from 19 FIRs registered by Punjab and Haryana police departments against the travel/visa agents and middlemen who cheated Indian citizens willing to go to the US illegally, they said.
As part of the action, the ED raided the house of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Totewala) leader Sukh Gill in Jalandhar. “The raids are underway and the details of the operation could be shared later,” said a senior ED official.
As many as 131 youngsters from Punjab were deported on board US military planes in February by the Donald Trump administration. These deportees had attempted to cross the US-Mexico border illegally between January 23 and 28, only to be apprehended by US border security patrols and sent to detention centres.
The probe agency later recorded the statements of the deportees. Investigation threw up the names of certain suspects and they are being searched, the official said.
Each deportee had paid between ₹45-55 lakh to unknown travel agents, whom they had never met in person but were connected to through local contacts. The ED asked the deportees to furnish all documents, including bank account details of the travel agents to whom payments were made. “We have initiated a thorough investigation under PMLA as huge sums of illegal financial transactions were involved in this nexus. Based on the statements of the deportees, the money trail will be zeroed-in,” said the ED official.
The agency has also indicated that more deportees from Punjab and Haryana may be summoned if required. The investigation aims to uncover the network of travel agents and the flow of illicit funds, which were allegedly used to forge education certificates, experience letters, and other documents to make ineligible visa applicants appear eligible for US visas.
On February 25, the ED conducted search operations at five business and houses in Ludhiana and Chandigarh linked to M/s Red Leaf Immigration Private Limited, M/s Overseas Partner Education Consultants, and M/s Infowiz Software Solution, among others. During the raids, the agency seized incriminating documents, digital devices, and cash amounting to ₹19 lakh.
The ED’s investigation revealed that the accused entities had manipulated visa applications by transferring funds to applicants’ accounts to show minimum balances required for visa applications. They also forged documents to help applicants meet eligibility criteria. “By such criminal activities, the accused charged hefty amounts from visa applicants. The proceeds of crime generated through these activities were invested in movable and immovable properties and diverted into various bank accounts,” the ED official said.
The probe was initiated based on FIRs registered by Punjab Police and Delhi Police, following a complaint from the Office of Overseas Criminal Investigations at the US Embassy in New Delhi. The complaint highlighted fraudulent activities by visa consultants who exploited aspiring students and workers looking to move to the US.
