India
ED seizes Rs 4.68 crore cash in Donkey Route case
The Hindu··30 Sept
The Enforcement Directorate seized Rs 4.68 crore in cash, gold bars worth Rs 8.07 crore, and silver bars worth about Rs 6.42 crore. Searches covered 13 locations across Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi. Agents also took 5.9 kg of gold, 313 kg of silver, and over 50 third-party passports. The probe follows U.S. deportation of 330 Indian nationals in February 2025.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Families paying agents for U.S. entry face a live money-laundering investigation of those networks.
- Provisional attachment of Rs 5.41 crore in property and accounts remains part of the ED file.
- Passports of third parties were among items seized from the searched premises.
What's Happening
- The probe stems from Punjab and Haryana FIRs after the February 2025 U.S. deportations.
- ED says agents promised legal entry, then moved people through South America toward the Mexico border.
- On December 15, ED provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 5.41 crore.
What Donkey Route means here
- Gold coins worth Rs 2.7 lakh were also impounded with digital devices and documents.
- The syndicate description includes travel agents, middlemen, hawala operators, and lodging providers.
- Victims were reportedly forced to pay more and commit illegal acts midway, ED said.
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