ED probes Gujarat family case, says 260 Canadian colleges involved in human trafficking – Firstpost

India’s Enforcement Directorate, which is investigating a money laundering case linked to a Gujarati family who froze to death while trying to cross illegally from Canada to the US, has found more than 260 Canadian colleges involved in illegal migration fraud

read more

India’s anti-money laundering agency – Enforcement Directorate (ED) – which is investigating a case related to the Gujarati family who froze to death while attempting to cross from Canada to the US, has found a link between an international syndicate of human traffickers and Canadian colleges. At least 260 colleges in Canada are said to have issued student visas to “illegal migrants” to enter the US via the Canadian route.

The case

On January 19, 2022, four members of a Gujarati family – Jagdish Patel (39), his wife Vaishali (35) and their two children – a one-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son – froze to death at the US border. The border with Canada in Manitoba while trying to cross illegally into the US.

The traffickers had left them in the middle of a snowstorm at -37 degrees Celsius.

This incident prompted ED to conduct an in-depth investigation into the money laundering operation related to the trade of Indians to the US via Canada.

The investigation began following an FIR filed by the Ahmedabad police against Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel and others, who are accused of orchestrating a network that facilitates illegal migration to the US via Canada. In this case, the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) have been invoked.

How this network functions

As part of the human trafficking scheme, Patel allegedly helped individuals gain admission to Canadian colleges.

The report further stated that, according to the ED, these individuals had applied for Canadian student visas but had not attended the designated institutions upon arrival. Instead, they used illegal routes to cross into the US. The colleges allegedly refunded the tuition fees to the students’ accounts after collecting a commission, raising suspicions of their complicity.

“Investigations reveal that in order to send Indians illegally to the US, the agents arranged their admission to colleges/universities in Canada and sent them student visas. Once in Canada, instead of joining the university, they illegally crossed the US-Canada border,” the ED said.

The ED suspects that of the 262 such colleges in Canada, some, located near the Canada-US border, have been directly involved in the trafficking of Indian nationals.

Aspirants pay up to Rs 60 lakhs and become victims

Indian nationals who found the student visa route convenient, compared to the ‘mule route’ to enter the US, were asked by the agents to pay around Rs 55-60 lakh each to arrange their student visa and travel to Canada before they were ‘ pushed’. ” to the US.

According to reports, the ED conducted extensive searches at eight locations, including Mumbai, Nagpur, Gandhinagar and Vadodara, during which two entities acting as middlemen for admission of students to foreign universities were discovered.

The investigation is underway to gauge the transactions of the Canadian colleges and how much money they made from such ‘illegal migrants’.

Meanwhile, the central agency has frozen Rs 19 lakh in bank accounts, seized vehicles and seized documents and digital devices as part of its investigation.

What else ED found

During the recent searches in Mumbai, Nagpur, Gandhinagar and Vadodara on premises of various officers involved in sending illegal migrants through these Canadian colleges on December 10 and 19, the ED found that around 35,000 illegal migrants are being routed annually by just two officers be sent abroad. based in Mumbai and Nagpur.

“The investigation also revealed that around 1,700 agents/associates in Gujarat and around 3,500 across India were involved in this racket. ED estimates that more than 800 officers are still active despite multi-agency crackdowns against them,” the ED said on Wednesday.

As part of the nexus, nearly 112 Canadian-based colleges appear to have entered into an agreement with one of the Indian entities in Maharashtra and more than 150 with the other, the ED said.

The ED’s latest searches revealed that every year around 25,000 students were referred by one entity and more than 10,000 students by another to various colleges outside India.

The agency further said that during the investigation, it was also found that at least two such agents, based in Mumbai and Nagpur, have signed agreements with various universities and colleges abroad for admission of students on commission basis. All potential illegal migrants are then prepared with the required documentation for a student visa.

With input from authorities.