ED probes racket involving 262 Canadian colleges to smuggle Indians across US border

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating a human trafficking racket involving two Indian institutions based in Mumbai and Nagpur and over 262 Canadian colleges. The operation reportedly facilitated illegal migration of Indian nationals to the United States via Canada using fraudulent student visa schemes.

The investigation began after the deaths of a family of four from Dingucha village in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district in January 2022. Their frozen bodies were found near the Canada-US border. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel and others for allegedly conspiring to send people to the United States through Canada using illegal channels.

According to the ED, the accused arranged admissions for individuals in Canadian colleges to obtain student visas. Once in Canada, the individuals crossed into the United States instead of attending the colleges. Migrants were charged between ₹55 lakh and ₹60 lakh, and the fees paid to the Canadian colleges were often refunded to their accounts after the crossing.

Raids conducted on December 10 and 19 at eight locations in Mumbai, Nagpur, Gandhinagar, and Vadodara uncovered key evidence. The ED froze ₹19 lakh in bank accounts and seized incriminating documents, digital devices, and two vehicles. The documents revealed that one Indian entity referred over 25,000 individuals annually to Canadian colleges, while the other referred more than 10,000.

The ED identified a network of more than 5,000 agents associated with the two institutions, including 1,700 in Gujarat and 3,500 in other parts of India. The agents worked to facilitate the admission process and coordinate logistics for the migrants’ travel.

The ED stated that 112 Canadian colleges had agreements with the Mumbai-based institution, while 150 had agreements with the Nagpur-based one. These agreements allowed for commission-based admissions. The investigation, conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, is ongoing, and further scrutiny of the colleges’ involvement is underway.