ED Uncovers Human Trafficking Network Linked to Canadian Colleges

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered a massive human trafficking network linking Indian agents and 262 Canadian colleges. The investigation revealed that these colleges were allegedly working with human traffickers to smuggle people from India to Canada and eventually into the US illegally.

According to ED officials, of the 262 colleges, 112 had partnered with one organization and over 150 with another, facilitating illegal immigration. The operation involved agents in India, with around 1,700 from Gujarat and 3,500 across the country implicated. Shockingly, 800 agents are still active.

The traffickers used Canadian college admissions as a front, securing visas for individuals. Once in Canada, the victims were illegally transported across the border into the US.

The investigation gained momentum after a tragic incident in January 2022, when a family from Gujarat froze to death while attempting to cross the Canada-US border near Minnesota. The family, consisting of Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben (30), and their children, aged 11 and 3, were abandoned by traffickers in -37°C temperatures.

Legal travel from India to the US costs ₹1.5–2 lakh, but traffickers charge ₹50–70 lakh for illegal routes. Similarly, the cost of legal travel to Canada is ₹2–3 lakh, compared to ₹20 lakh for illicit routes.

The ED continues its probe into this transnational trafficking network, which has exposed significant gaps in immigration systems and raised concerns over the complicity of educational institutions.​