New Delhi: Gujarat has emerged as a breeding ground for human trafficking agents an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation has found.
The central agency has uncovered a network of 4,000-4,500 trafficking agents, of which 2,000 are from Gujarat alone, an ED official told the Telegraph.
These agents are involved with at least 150 Canadian colleges that help people from India illegally enter the US via Canada.
According to the report, agents get their clients admitted to a Canadian college on student visas. After travelling to Canada on their student documents, they cross the border and enter the US illegally.
“Investigations have revealed that nearly 2,000 agents or ‘partners’ in Gujarat, involved in smuggling Indians into the US via Canada, are still active and in touch with syndicate members in Canada,” the ED official told the paper.
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The central agency has discovered over 12,000 financial transactions between these agents and Canadian colleges, made between November 2021 and July 2024, the official said. “These payments to the Canadian colleges were made through three or four (Indian) financial service companies, which too are under our scanner,” he added.
The official said that the fee sent to the Canadian colleges was returned to the individual’s account after a commission was deducted. This commission ranged between Rs 55-60 lakh per person.
The ED official said that a money-laundering case in connection with the trafficking racket has been filed.
The revelations have come as part of the central agency’s probe into the death of a family of four from Gujarat, who froze to death while trying to cross the US-Canada border in January 2022. The deceased included two children who were 11 and 3 years old respectively.
According to reports, Gujaratis are overrepresented among illegal Indian migrants in the US at large. In 2023, out of 67,391 Indian illegal migrants in the US, Gujaratis were 41,330.
Many have also questioned why residents of Gujarat are fleeing the ‘model state’ in large numbers. Many of the state’s residents were also among the undocumented migrants deported by the Trump administration over the last month.
