New Delhi [India], July 19 (HBTV): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at seven locations in Haryana in connection with the Donkey Route case, which involves illegal immigrants deported from the United States in February 2025.

The searches, led by the ED's Jalandhar Zonal Office, were carried out in Mansa, Kurukshetra, and Karnal districts.

Officials said the raids were based on credible information gathered during a previous operation conducted on July 9 at 11 locations, including Amritsar, Sangrur, Patiala, Moga, Ambala, Kurukshetra, and Karnal. The earlier searches targeted travel and visa agents allegedly part of an illegal immigration network.

‘Inputs gathered show that second-leg handlers and human traffickers arranged illegal route resources outside India in connivance with Donkers (human trafficking conduits),’ officials stated.

The investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was initiated on the basis of 17 First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by police in Punjab and Haryana against travel agents and middlemen accused of defrauding individuals desperate to migrate to the United States.

‘These agents reportedly lured people with promises of legal travel arrangements but instead trafficked them through dangerous, illegal routes known as the Donkey Route—a term used for unauthorized, multi-country land crossings often fraught with peril,’ ED officials said.

According to the ED, agents charged exorbitant sums—between INR 45 lakh and INR 50 lakh per person—under the pretext of legal migration. However, victims were often smuggled across international borders through jungles and treacherous terrain with the involvement of organised crime syndicates and trafficking facilitators referred to as Donkers.

Investigators further revealed that once victims were en route, the agents and their associates coerced families back home to make additional payments by instilling fear for the safety of their loved ones.

Statements from several deportees have been recorded by the ED, leading to the identification of multiple suspects whose premises are currently being searched as part of the ongoing operation.

The case underscores growing concerns over transnational human trafficking networks operating under the guise of legitimate immigration services.

(ANI)