New Delhi [India], December 18 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at 13 business and residential premises across Punjab, Haryana and Delhi in the Dunki route case, officials said.

The raids have been underway since morning in close coordination with the police forces covering the premises of 'second and third layer persons involved in the chain' of the syndicate.

ED's Jalandhar zonal office teams are carrying out searches at these 13 locations based on certain inputs in the case in which the ED initiated an investigation on the basis of various First Information Reports (FIRs) registered related to 330 Indians deported by the USA through a military cargo plane in February 2025.

During the ED investigation, it was found that the deported Indians were sent to the USA through the donkey or dunki route and were facilitated by a complex web of persons involved in a chain, like travel agents, middlemen, donkers, overseas associates, hawala operators, lodging and other logistics arrangement providers.

'Earlier two searches conducted by the ED and other gathered evidence surfaced during the investigation revealed the names of second and third layer persons involved in the chain,' said the officials.

Recently, the ED attached assets worth Rs 5.41 crore linked to individuals who generated proceeds of crime by illegally sending them abroad via the donki route. ED's Jalandhar zonal office had attached these properties, derived from or equivalent to the Proceeds of Crime generated by various agents, who were involved in illegally sending persons to the USA through the 'dunky' route. The attached properties include agricultural land, residential premises, business premises and bank accounts in the names of such agents and their family members.

ED initiated an investigation based on various FIRs registered by Punjab Police and Haryana Police under various sections of BNS 2023 (erstwhile IPC 1860) and Immigration Act, 1983, related to the deportation of 330 Indian Nationals to India on military cargo planes in February 2025 by the USA government, as those 330 persons entered the USA illegally.

ED investigation revealed that 'these 'agents' and their associates used to cheat gullible people by luring them under the pretext of sending them to the USA legally and charged hefty amounts for this.' 'However, subsequently they used to send people via dangerous routes through various South American countries, and they were made to cross over into the USA illegally through the USA-Mexico border,' said the agency.

'Throughout the way, people were tortured, extorted for even more money and made to commit illegal acts. These 'agents' and their associates generated proceeds of crime by cheating various persons on false pretexts and obtaining large sums from them.'

Previously, ED conducted searches in this case on July 9, 2025 and July 11, 2025, at 19 locations under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, wherein incriminating documents and materials were found and recovered, including bogus immigration stamps, bogus visa stamps, records and digital devices. (ANI)