New Delhi, Dec 20: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized cash and precious metals worth Rs 19.13 crore during fresh searches conducted as part of a money laundering probe into the illegal transportation of Indians to the United States through the ‘dunki’ route, officials said on Friday.
The searches were carried out at over a dozen locations across Delhi, Punjab’s Jalandhar and Haryana’s Panipat, they said.
According to officials, the agency seized Rs 4.62 crore in cash, 313 kilograms of silver and six kilograms of gold bullion, with the bulk of the recoveries made from the premises of a Delhi-based travel agent described as a key player in the racket.
The investigators also recovered incriminating chats, electronic devices and documents during the raids. From the premises of a key suspect in Haryana, records and documents related to the ‘dunki’ business were seized, the officials said.
They alleged that agents involved in the racket retained property documents of migrants as collateral to secure payment of their commissions.
The term ‘dunki’ refers to the long and arduous illegal migration journey undertaken by individuals through multiple countries to enter foreign destinations without authorisation.
Officials said this was not the first action in the case, as the ED had conducted raids in July and subsequently attached assets worth about Rs 5 crore linked to certain travel agents.
The probe stems from FIRs registered by the Punjab and Haryana Police following the deportation of 330 Indian nationals from the US in February 2025. The deportees were found to be residing illegally in the country.
According to the ED, the agents allegedly lured migrants with promises of legal travel to the US, charged hefty sums, and then routed them through dangerous paths via South American countries before pushing them across the US-Mexico border.
The agency said the migrants were subjected to torture, extortion and coercion during the journey, and that the accused generated proceeds of crime by cheating aspirants, which are being investigated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The US has deported more than 1,500 Indian nationals so far this year, officials said.
