NIA Charges Two Men in Major India-US Human Trafficking Operation via 'Dunki' Route

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed charges against two individuals for their involvement in illegal human trafficking operations from India to the United States through what is known as the 'dunki' route, officials announced on Thursday.

Punjab Police initially registered the case on February 18 this year before it was transferred to the NIA.

The two men charged have been identified as Sunny, a resident of Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, and Shubham Sandhal (also known as Deep Hundi) from Peeragardhi, New Delhi. The chargesheet was submitted on Wednesday to a NIA special court in Mohali.

According to officials, both individuals face charges of illegal human trafficking and fraud. They were apprehended in July, approximately three months following the arrest of the primary accused, Gagandeep Singh (alias Goldy), who was detained in the Tilak Nagar area of New Delhi.

The NIA took over the investigation from Punjab Police in March and discovered that Sunny operated as a 'donkar' actively participating in human trafficking via the 'dunki' route. Based in Mexico from 2021 to 2023, he collaborated with Goldy and other accomplices to facilitate illegal border crossings and unlawfully detain victims, receiving payments through hawala channels and bank transfers.

After returning to India in 2023, Sunny continued coordinating logistics, managing hawala transactions, and directly sending individuals through the dunki route, according to the investigation agency.

Shubham Sandhal, identified as a Delhi-based hawala agent, primarily facilitated illegal fund transfers for the human trafficking network led by Goldy and his associates. The NIA investigation revealed that Shubham collected money from Indian clients and remitted it abroad using the hawala system.

His primary role involved managing and moving illicit funds across India, Mexico, and the United States as part of the illegal immigration operation, the statement noted.

The NIA is continuing its investigation against other accused individuals in the case and is working to dismantle similar illegal trafficking networks involved in defrauding and exploiting innocent people with false promises of legal visas.