ED raids in Punjab, Haryana in 'donkey route' case

The money laundering case stems from 17 FIRs registered by Punjab and Haryana police departments against the travel/visa agents and middlemen who cheated various persons willing to go to the US illegally, sources said.

Jalandhar: 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 Indian immigrants who were deported by the US this year, official sources said.

Offices and houses of suspects and agents in at least 11 cities in the two states, 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 17 FIRs registered by Punjab and Haryana police departments against the travel/visa agents and middlemen who cheated various persons willing to go to the US illegally, they said.

A number of Indians from these two states and few others were deported onboard US military planes in February this year and the agency later recorded the statements of few deportees.

These statements and some linked investigation threw up the names of certain suspects and they are being searched, the sources said.

The agents used to "target" innocent persons who were willing to go abroad and on the false promise of sending them to the US through legal channels and flights they used to charge an amount ranging from Rs 45-50 lakh per candidate.

However, the agents used to dupe these people as they were sent through illegal routes (donkey route) by crossing the borders of many countries illegally through dangerous/jungle routes under the influence of 'donkers' and mafias, the sources said.

These agents, in collusion with 'donkers' and mafia used to create a "threatening" situation for the aspiring travellers and their families that they were forced to cough up more and more money, the sources said.