Jalandhar: The Wire has learnt that around four ‘US donkey flights’ had already left for their planned destination while two more such flights were all set to move, when the Nicaragua-bound flight from Fujairah, Dubai, was intercepted by immigration officials under charges of human trafficking at Vatry airport in France on December 26.
The interception of Romania-based Legend Airlines, a chartered Airbus A340, sent alarm bells ringing from France to India. All individuals on board were reportedly enroute to Managua, Nicaragua, a Central American country, with the ultimate destination being the US via the donkey route.
The concept of a ‘donkey route’ is not new in Punjab. However, for the first time, a ‘donkey flight’, or an entire chartered flight, was booked for illegal migration to the US. Till now, people have been traveling to the US or Europe in groups via the donkey routes, utilising major international airlines, and then crossing the respective borders in cars, containers, boats, or ships.
Donkey route is the illegal method of entering a foreign country via multiple stops in other countries.
Usually, it takes around a month or more to complete the journey, which begins from Nicaragua. Travellers then cross through different central American states, depending on the network of “donkers” or agents.
The Wire accessed the list of passengers, many of whom were Punjabis. Others included Gujaratis and a Nepali national. The youngest passenger in the flight was a two-year-old baby. Out of the total 303 passengers, 27 opted for political asylum in France while the rest 276 were sent back to Mumbai on December 27. The kingpin in this case was one Shashi Kiran Reddy from Hyderabad, who was arranging the US donkey process.
While the Gujarat Crime Investigation Department (CID) has questioned 66 passengers onboard Legend Airlines, who paid around Rs 60 to Rs 80 lakhs for the US donkey process, the Punjab Police, on the other hand, has constituted a four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT). The Punjab Police is said to be approaching the Foreigners Registration Office (FRRO) in Mumbai to access the record and addresses of all the passengers.
Notably, the trend of going to the US via donkey route has always existed in Punjab. However, it gained momentum in the past two to three years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, this trend was confined to only Punjab and Gujarat, but now, youngsters from Haryana have been reportedly going to the US via donkey routes in large numbers.
Nicaragua returnees remain tight-lipped
Hinting at the previous successful US donkey attempts, four youngsters, who were heading home to Gurdaspur district in Punjab, shared that four similar flights had already landed in Nicaragua while two more flights were set to leave, when they were asked to move back to India.
The youngsters, all aged between 18 to 25 years, said, on condition to keep their identities anonymous, “Had our flight not stopped for refueling at Varty, France airport, we too would have landed in Nicaragua. Everything was fine until the French authorities started investigating the matter. It was only after the Indian Embassy officials reached the airport that we were questioned and forced to come back.”
They avoided answering questions about the amount paid to the donkey agents. However, it was learnt that there was a significant disparity in the fees charged for the US donkey process in Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat. On an average, travel agents charged approximately Rs 45 lakh per individual for the US donkey process in Punjab.
In Haryana, they charged between Rs 50 lakh to 70 lakh per person. In Gujarat, CID officials, who are investigating the matter, revealed that many people paid around Rs 60 to Rs 80 lakh to reach the US illegally via the donkey route.
The youngsters, who had covered their faces in the car, kept reiterating that they were not part of a US donkey.
“We were supposed to get an on-arrival visa in Nicaragua, where our hotels were already booked. All that we know is that the chartered flight, Legend Airlines, was booked by a Dubai-based Sheikh,” they said.
In Punjab, a nexus of Jalandhar- and Gurdaspur-based travel agents reportedly led the US donkey process. It was learnt that before moving to Nicaragua, the youngsters were made to stay in hotels in Dubai.
This was confirmed by two other youngsters, who returned to Punjab after waiting for the US donkey process to start for over eight months, first in Doha and then in Dubai.
It is pertinent to mention here that after the interception of the Legend Airlines, most of the youngsters waiting for their turn for the US donkey flight in Dubai were asked by their travel agents to move back to India.
“Nearly all budget hotels in Qatar and Dubai remained flooded with Punjabis, Gujaratis, and Pakistanis, waiting endlessly for their turn to start a US donkey. That was the scenario throughout the year,” said a travel agent.
It was learnt that the duo had paid a whopping amount of Rs 90 lakh, i.e. Rs 45 lakh per person for a US donkey to an agent. “The travel agent made them wait for around eight months. Almost every second day, they were promised that they would be flying out of Dubai, but it [the process] got delayed. The agents also promised a flight to Canada from where they were supposed to move to the US. However, they just kept waiting,” he said.
Talking about the US donkey, the travel agent also said, “It is not only a risky but an extremely costly affair. Gullible youngsters not only pay for their US donkey expenses, but also for their stay in the hotels for months, and then end up paying a big amount for their overstay in these countries. The youngsters reach the Middle East on a month-long tourist visa. Once the visa is over, they are charged fines per day. The fact is that once you start a US donkey, there is no guarantee, when and how someone would reach there.”
Another Jalandhar-based youngster from Punjab’s Jafarwal village in Shahkot subdivision, who had also boarded Legend Airlines, initially agreed to talk but later refused.
Jafarwal village sarpanch Kulwinder Kaur and her husband Dalbir Singh said, “A youngster from our village had gone and has now returned home. However, neither the family is responding nor do we know anything about them.”
Also read: Driven by Desire to Work Abroad, Punjabi Youth Risk Everything – Even Death
Punjab Police constitutes SIT, probe begins
Director of Bureau of Investigation L.K. Yadav told The Wire that they have received segmented inputs about the Nicaragua human trafficking case for which the SIT was constituted. “Our team is liaising to connect the missing links. We are appealing the victims of this fiasco to approach the police and get their first information reports registered. Since the US needs cheap labour, people try illegal means to reach there,” he said.
Superintendent of Police (Investigation), Ferozepur, Randhir Singh, who is heading the three-member SIT, said that the “Punjab Police is also in touch with central agencies and the agencies of other states to crack this case. “
A senior police official told The Wire that the Punjab Police has written to the FRRO Mumbai to obtain details of all passengers on the flight. “We have not questioned any of the victims or travel agents in this case, but we have got leads to track the case. We constantly ask the victims to come forward for justice. In case nobody approaches us, we’ll reach out to the victims,” the official said.
US donkey route via Nicaragua, Mexico, and Panama jungle
Nicaragua, a Central American country located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, bordered by Costa Rica and Honduras, serves as the primary stopover for the US donkey route for individuals from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
The standard US donkey route crosses through a host of Central American states, including Nicaragua, Havana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia via the Panama jungle or Arizona, and Peru.
In majority of the cases, the illegal migrants either take a road donkey via Mexico or a boat journey to Havana. The donkers also operate via Panama jungle, a perilous forest, where people walk for days crossing the Darien gap, a geographical region in Darien province, to the US border.
A Jalandhar-based youngster, Baljit Singh (name changed), who went to the US through donkey route some years ago, said that the travel agents operating in Punjab were at the lowest level within the entire nexus and were not aware of anything beyond collecting the huge payment.
“The kingpins operate from Delhi, Mumbai, and Dubai. The main hub of US donkeys is Central America. In most of the cases, the travel agents get hotel bookings done or keep the passengers in vacant houses and provide food and water as well. This is where the travel agents dupe, as they do not make timely payments to other agents down the line, and the trouble begins. In such cases, either the youngster faces acute hardships enroute or ends up losing huge money,” he said.
“We crossed through Mexico, Panama jungle, and then reached Eagle Pass, Texas. Once someone reaches the US border, they are arrested by the US Customs and Border Patrol. However, after furnishing a bond of $5000 to 10,000 or more in the local court, they get bail within a couple of months,” he said.
Notably, in its ‘2023 Trafficking in Persons Report: Nicaragua,’ the US Department of State, under the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, has designated Nicaragua as Tier 3. Tier 1 and Tier 2 countries are those that rigorously combat human trafficking and those making efforts to address it, respectively.
The report from the US State Department highlighted Nicaragua’s minimal efforts in addressing labour trafficking. It noted the absence of reported investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees involved in trafficking offenses, despite the prevalence of corruption and widespread official complicity in the country.
‘Booking a chartered flight for donkey route is shocking’
Expressing concern over this trend, Kuljit Hayer, president of Punjab Travel Agents’ Association, said that it is the first time he has come across the term ‘donkey flight.’
“The concept of the donkey route is not new in Punjab, but booking a chartered flight for the donkey route is indeed shocking. As the travel agents and people involved in the donkey route operate clandestinely and belong to different countries, the nexus usually remains untraced,” he said.
Satnam Singh Chahal, president of US-based North American Punjabi Association, said that he has been raising voice against illegal migration, donkey route, and a number of Punjabis stuck in US jails since 1997, but nothing has changed till date.
“I have been writing to the Punjab government on this issue since 1997, when Parkash Singh Badal was the chief minister. I even shared the names and addresses of the travel agents with the Punjab government, but no action was taken. The fact is that neither the government is serious nor do people want to work here,” he said.
Chahal highlighted that according to the Migration Policy Institute, approximately 11.2 million authorised immigrants were living in the US in 2021, up from 11 million in 2019. “It is an alarming situation. Almost every day, we notice hundreds of Punjabi youngsters standing on the border to cross over to the US,” he said.
Social media flooded with videos of US donkey route, police unaware
Interestingly, social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, have been flooded with many pages on the US and Europe donkey. With lakhs of followers, these pages not only share US donkey routes but also extend offers to potential youngsters.
Scrolling through such viral videos or reels clearly shows the craze among youngsters. The comment section remains flooded with queries about the travel agent, expenses, and how to start the US donkey journey. However, the police seem to be unaware of such posts.
Interestingly, when The Wire messaged one such US donkey page to inquire if the reel was that of the US or Europe, the owner in turn suggested to avail the US donkey for Rs 45 lakh.
