Enforcement Directorate conducts fresh raids in ‘dunki’ route case

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday fanned out across Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, launching fresh searches in a widening money-laundering probe linked to the shadowy ‘dunki’ route used to smuggle Indians into the United States, officials said.

The latest round of action follows raids conducted in July and the recent attachment of assets worth Rs 5 crore belonging to travel agents accused of orchestrating the illegal exodus. Investigators now believe they are closing in on the second and third layers of a sprawling network that profited from desperate dreams of migration.

Sources said the searches targeted a travel firm in Jalandhar, along with premises linked to individuals in Delhi and Panipat, as the agency pieces together the chain behind the racket.

The probe has its roots in multiple FIRs filed by the Punjab and Haryana Police after the US deported around 330 Indian nationals in February 2025 aboard military cargo planes. The deportees were found to be living illegally on American soil, their journeys having begun with false promises back home.

According to the ED, the alleged agents preyed on vulnerable aspirants, luring them with assurances of legal entry into the US while charging exorbitant sums. Instead, the migrants were funnelled through perilous routes across South America and pushed into the US by crossing the Mexico border illegally.

The term “dunki” — derived from “donkey” — captures the gruelling, punishing nature of these journeys. The agency said the migrants were subjected to harassment, extortion and coercion at various stages, and in some cases forced into illegal acts to keep moving forward.

Investigators allege that the agents and their associates amassed vast proceeds of crime by cheating those they claimed to help, turning human desperation into a lucrative enterprise.

So far this year, the United States has deported more than 1,500 Indian nationals, casting a harsh spotlight on the human cost of illegal migration networks and the criminal syndicates that thrive on them.

With PTI inputs