The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday (July 8, 2025) conducted searches at 11 locations in Punjab and Haryana in connection with the “Donkey Route” case related to the illegal immigrants deported from the United States in February.

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 money-laundering angle.

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 U.S.

It is alleged that the agents used to target the innocent persons aspiring to go abroad and on the false promise of facilitating their air travel through legal channels, they charged about ₹45-50 lakh per head from the victims.

“However, the agents used to dupe the innocent persons 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 [human trafficking conduits] and the mafia,” the agency said.

“The agents, in collusion with donkers and the mafia, used to create such a threatening situation for the persons and their families that they were forced to pay more…statement of a few deportees were recorded by the ED and further examination of facts revealed names of suspects, which are being covered in today’s search,” it said.

Earlier this month, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two alleged “U.S. donkey route” human traffickers after searches at two locations in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.   The accused were identified as Sunny aka Sunny Donker of Dharamshal (Himachal Pradesh) and Shubham Sandhal aka Deep Hundi of Ropar (Punjab) residing in Peeragarhi (Delhi).

The accused were associates of Gagandeep Singh who was arrested earlier in March. “Gagandeep was arrested on a complaint of a victim who was illegally trafficked to the U.S. using the infamous ‘dunki’ route and was deported to India in February this year. The NIA had charge-sheeted Gagandeep, a resident of Tilak Nagar in Delhi, in the case on June 27,” the NIA said.

As alleged, Gagandeep Singh used to take about ₹45 lakh from each victim on the false promise of sending them to the U.S. on a valid visa. He would then illegally send them on an arduous journey via multiple countries, including Spain, El-Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. He had sent over 100 victims illegally to the U.S.