In one of the high-profile criminal cases, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has pressed charges in an illegal immigration case of the United States through the so-called donkey route, which revealed a well-developed human trafficking network. The NIA reported that the traffickers would receive money on behalf of the Indian clients and transfer money abroad in hawala networks by bypassing the official financial systems.
The chargesheet identifies Sunny, a Dharamshala resident of Himachal Pradesh and Shubham Sandhal alias Deep Hundi of Peeragarhi, Delhi, who were arrested in July, as part of the group involved in the racket. In March, the so-called kingpin, Gagandeep Singh alias Goldy, was arrested.
According to the NIA, Sunny was engaged in the trafficking business, as he lived in Mexico from 2021-2023. He joined forces with Goldy and others to promote illegal border crossings, illegal detention of victims and money laundering. As late as 2023, after returning to India, Sunny still managed the logistics and hawala remittances and got victims across the dunki/donkey route.
Sandhal, who was said to be a hawala agent, was mainly used to transfer the illegitimate funds to the syndicate. Investigators added that he received money from Indian customers and laundered money through India, Mexico, and the US, which made the trafficking network operate smoothly.
According to reports, Goldy ran the route without any legal papers and ferried people through Spain, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico before they arrived in the US. The NIA pointed out that it is still investigating other suspects who were found to have participated in the same network and defrauded nationals with the promise of obtaining legal visas.
As of January 2025, 388 undocumented Indian immigrants have been deported by the US, including 333 on three special flights to Amritsar. More than a dozen related cases have been registered by a Punjab Police Special Investigation Team.
The NIA is also collaborating with law enforcers in the US and Canada to monitor traffickers operating overseas, and the Enforcement Directorate is investigating illegal immigration by examining visa fraud.
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