https://www.cnbctv18.com/india/ed-probe-reveals-260-canadian-colleges-involved-in-trafficking-of-indians-into-us-19529942.htm

A Gujarati family of four, including two children, was found frozen to death while attempting to enter the United States from Canada illegally nearly three years back. Their agents had left the family in the middle of a snowstorm as the temperature dropped to around -37 degree Celsius.

The victims were identified as 39-year-old Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben (who was in her mid-30s), their daughter (11) and son (3).

Now, a money laundering investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against those agents has uncovered an international human trafficking ring. This network involves as many as 262 colleges in Canada that issued student visas to undocumented migrants, facilitating their illegal entry into the United States, according to a report by News18.

Furthermore, these individuals, were also being charged ₹60 lakh to cross over to the US, the probe has found. The ED launched its investigation based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by Ahmedabad Police against Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel, the main accused involved in arranging the travel of the Patel family.

Subsequently, a case was registered against a few other people, under the criminal sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Patel and others are alleged to have “hatched a well-planned conspiracy to send people (Indians) to the USA through Canada via illegal channels thereby committing the offence of human trafficking.”

The investigation is currently under progress to assess the transactions of the Canadian colleges and the amount they collected from these illegal migrants.

The agency had earlier found that as part of the racket, the accused “arranged” admission for people, desirous to go to the US illegally, in colleges and universities based in Canada.

A Canadian student visa was applied for such people and once they reached that country, instead of joining the college, they “illegally” crossed the US-Canada border.

“In view of this, the fee received by colleges based in Canada was remitted back to the individuals’ account,” the ED alleged.

Indians were “lured” into the racket and charged between ₹55 and ₹60 lakh per person, according to the ED.