The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Delhi-based travel agent Tarun Khosla in connection with an ongoing money laundering probe into a network that allegedly facilitated illegal migration to the United States through informal border crossings known as the donkey route. Following his transit from the national capital, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Jalandhar remanded Khosla to seven days of agency custody on October 24. The arrest forms part of an expanding financial investigation into an illicit immigration syndicate suspected of operating across multiple tiers, including local recruiters, overseas handlers, logistical coordinators, and hawala operators.
Seizures of Cash, Bullion, and Surety Records
The remand follows extensive search operations conducted by the agency on December 18, 2025, across 13 locations in Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana. During these raids, which covered Khosla’s residential and business premises as well as Richi Travels in Jalandhar, investigators seized ₹4.62 crore in unaccounted currency, six kilograms of gold bars, and 313 kilograms of silver.
Investigators also recovered documentary evidence linking multiple intermediaries to the movement of undocumented travelers. Records seized from Panipat-based agent Balwan Singh reportedly revealed that certain migrants were held as financial sureties to ensure the collection of outstanding dues. The agency is examining these materials alongside seized bank records to identify the financial trails and trace how proceeds were transferred through informal settlement networks.
Provisional Attachment of Properties and Previous Raids
Prior to the latest searches, the agency on December 15 provisionally attached movable and immovable assets valued at ₹5.41 crore linked to three other alleged agents, Shubham Sharma, Jagjit Singh, and Surmukh Singh. The attached holdings include agricultural parcels, commercial premises, residential properties, and bank balances held in the names of the accused and their family members.
The provisional attachment was carried out to prevent the dissipation or transfer of suspected proceeds of crime during the inquiry. These actions built upon an earlier phase of enforcement in July 2025, when search teams covered 11 locations across Punjab and Haryana, including premises in Amritsar, Patiala, Sangrur, Moga, Ambala, Karnal, and Kurukshetra, to map out the operational infrastructure of the racket.
Deportations Expose Lucrative Cross-Border Syndicate
The money laundering case stems from 19 police first information reports registered across Punjab and Haryana following the deportation of 330 Indian citizens by the United States in February 2025, who were flown back on military cargo aircraft. Inquiries revealed that aspiring migrants were promised legitimate entry into the United States but were instead guided through dangerous overland routes spanning South American nations before crossing the southwest American border illegally.
Statements recorded from returned migrants show that individuals were charged between ₹40 lakh and ₹55 lakh each for the transit. Most victims dealt exclusively with local intermediaries and never had direct contact with key organisers. The agency has requisitioned bank records from deported individuals to map out transaction histories, verify the identities of beneficiaries, and determine the full extent of assets generated through the illicit enterprise.
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