Jalandhar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out raids at the office and residence of Richi Travel in Jalandhar as part of its ongoing investigation into illegal migration through the donkey route.
The searches are being conducted at the Richie Travel office located near the bus stand and at the residence of the firm’s owner in Jaswant Nagar. The action is linked to cases involving Indians who were recently deported from the United States after allegedly being sent abroad illegally.
Sources said the raids follow earlier ED action in the same case, during which assets worth around Rs 5 crore belonging to travel agents were attached two days ago. The agency is continuing its crackdown on networks involved in facilitating illegal migration.
Officials said the current investigation is based on inputs gathered during earlier raids. A few days ago, the ED had taken action against two travel agents in connection with the donkey route case and attached assets worth Rs 5.41 crore of those allegedly involved in sending people abroad illegally.
At present, ED teams from Jalandhar are conducting a survey at the Richi Travel office near the bus stand while parallel searches are underway at the owner’s residence in Jaswant Nagar. Several travel agents have come under the ED’s scanner following the interrogation of Indians deported from the US in recent months.
According to sources, raids are also being conducted at the premises of Tarun Khosla in Delhi and Balwan Sharma in Panipat in connection with the same case. The ED’s investigation is based on FIRs registered after the deportation of 330 Indians from the US in February 2025. The deportees were sent back on a US Army cargo plane.
Preliminary findings revealed that the individuals were illegally sent to the US through the donkey route with the involvement of a wider network of travel agents, middlemen, donkers, overseas contacts and hawala operators. Based on evidence collected during earlier searches, the ED is now taking action against other members of the network.
