NIA files chargesheet against two in India-U.S. ‘dunki’ route case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a chargesheet against two accused in connection with alleged illegal human trafficking from India to the United States via the so-called ‘dunki’ route.

The accused have been identified as Sunny, a resident of Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, and Shubham Sandhal from Peeragardhi in Delhi. They were arrested in July, around three months after the main accused, Gagandeep Singh of Tilak Nagar in Delhi, was held.

As alleged, Gagandeep Singh charged about ₹45 lakh per person on the pretext of arranging a valid U.S. visa. He would then allegedly facilitate their illegal passage through several countries, including Spain, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. The “mastermind” had reportedly sent more than 100 victims to the U.S. through unlawful means.

The case was initially registered by the Punjab police in Tarn Taran and was taken over by the NIA on March 13, 2025. According to the NIA, Sunny was a “donkar” involved in human trafficking through the ‘dunki’ route.

“While he was based in Mexico from 2021 to 2023, he connived with Goldy and others to facilitate illegal border crossings and unlawfully detaining the victims. He received payments through ‘hawala’ and bank transfers. Even after returning to India in 2023, he continued coordinating logistics, managing ‘hawala’ transactions, and directly sending victims via the ‘dunki’ route,” the agency said.

“Shubham Sandhal, a Delhi-based hawala agent, was mainly engaged in facilitating illegal fund transfers for the human trafficking syndicate led by Goldy and his associates. NIA investigations revealed that Shubham collected money from Indian clients and remitted it abroad using the ‘hawala’ network. His role was to smoothly manage and move the illicit funds across India, Mexico, and the U.S. as part of the illegal immigration racket,” it added.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also probing the money-laundering angle in 17 such cases registered by the Punjab and Haryana police following the deportation of illegal immigrants from the U.S. The agency has conducted multiple searches in both States.

It is alleged that the agents targeted individuals aspiring to go abroad and, under the false promise of facilitating air travel through legal channels, charged about ₹45-50 lakh per person. “However, the agents used to dupe the innocent persons as they were sent through illegal routes by crossing the borders of many countries illegally through dangerous/jungle routes under the influence of donkers (human trafficking conduits) and the mafia,” the ED earlier said.

The agents allegedly created threatening situations for the victims and their families, forcing them to pay more.