In a major investigation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has revealed that 262 colleges in Canada are suspected of being involved in a money laundering operation linked to the trafficking of Indians across the US-Canada border. The victims of this scheme were charged up to 60 lakh to attempt crossing into the United States.

The investigation is connected to the tragic deaths of a four-member Indian family on January 19, 2022, in Canada. The family, from Dingucha village in Gujarat, died from exposure to extreme cold while attempting to illegally cross into the US.

The ED said that it launched its investigation after taking note of a FIR filed by the Ahmedabad Police against Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel, who has been identified as the main accused in the case.

A case was also filed against a few others under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The investigation found that Patel and his group planned to illegally send people (Indians) to the USA through Canada, which led to charges of human trafficking.

Earlier, the ED found that as part of the scheme, the accused helped people who wanted to enter the US illegally by securing admissions for them to colleges and universities in Canada.

Student visas were arranged for these individuals, and upon arrival in Canada, they bypassed the colleges and crossed the US-Canada border illegally, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

The ED also claimed that the fees paid to the Canadian colleges were refunded to the individuals' accounts. It also said Indians were "lured" into the racket and charged between Rs 55 lakh and Rs 60 lakh each.

ED carries out searches and seizes and evidences

The agency carried out new searches on December 10 and December 19 at eight locations in Mumbai, Nagpur, Gandhinagar, and Vadodara.

After these searches, the ED found that two groups, one in Mumbai and the other in Nagpur had made an "agreement" to help Indians get admitted to foreign universities for a commission.

The agency said that the recent searches revealed one group refers to about 25,000 students, and the other refers more than 10,000 students to colleges outside India every year.

The agency also found that there are around 1,700 agents/partners in Gujarat and about 3,500 agents/partners across India, with about 800 of them being active. Besides this, around 112 colleges in Canada have made an agreement with one group, and more than 150 with the other. The involvement of these colleges in the case is still being investigated, the ED said.

The ED also suspected that some of the 262 colleges in Canada, particularly those located near the Canada-US border, are involved in trafficking Indian nationals.

While conducting searches, the Enforcement Directorate froze Rs 19 lakh in bank accounts, seized "incriminating" documents and digital devices, and confiscated two vehicles related to the investigation.