India alleges that Canadian colleges are linked to the trafficking of foreign students across the Canada-US border

Indian law enforcement agencies say they are investigating alleged links between dozens of colleges in Canada and two Mumbai-based “entities” accused of smuggling students across the Canada-US border.

A press release on Tuesday from India’s Enforcement Directorate — a multi-disciplinary organization that investigates money laundering and foreign exchange laws — said a multi-city raid had uncovered “incriminating” evidence of “person-trafficking “.

The allegations have not been tested in court. The federal government, the RCMP, the Indian High Commission in Ottawa and several College of Canada officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The US Embassy said Thursday it had no comment.

Indian officials say they launched their investigation after Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, 39, was found dead with his wife and two children near a border crossing between Manitoba and the United States on 19 January 2022.

Last month, a Minnesota jury found Steve Shand of Florida and Harshkumar Patel, an Indian national arrested in Chicago, guilty on four counts of bringing, transporting, and profiting from unauthorized persons into the US.

Patel is a common name in India and the family had no relation to the accused.

Prosecutors said Harshkumar Patel coordinated a sophisticated operation, while Shand was a driver to take 11 Indian immigrants to the Minnesota side of the border. Only seven survived the foot crossing. Canadian authorities found the Patels later that morning, frozen to death.

Harshkumar Patel and Shand have not yet been convicted and may appeal.

India claims the man arranged admission to Canadian schools

Tuesday’s press release said officials have launched an investigation following a report filed against Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel, who allegedly arranged the family’s trip.

Each family member was allegedly charged the equivalent of between $93,000 and $102,000 to cross into the United States from Canada, the directorate claimed.

The incident was called the Dingucha case in India, named after the village in the western Indian state of Gujarat where the family hails from.

The Enforcement Directorate said it searched eight places last week in Mumbai, Nagpur in Maharashtra state and Gandhinagar and Vadodara in Gujarat.

It also claims that Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel arranged for people to get admission in Canadian colleges, which helped in getting student visas.

The press release did not specify the schools believed to be involved.

The directorate claims more than 100 colleges across Canada are involved

“Once individuals or students arrive in Canada, instead of joining college, they have illegally crossed the US-Canada border and never enrolled in Canadian colleges,” it said.

The fee paid for college admission was then refunded, according to the Enforcement Directorate.

The release claimed that the search found that about 25,000 students were referred by one entity, over 10,000 students referred by another entity to various colleges outside India every year.

The network has about 1,700 agents in Gujarat and about 3,500 in India, of which 800 are active, authorities say.

The release claims that “approximately 112 colleagues based in Canada” have entered into an agreement with one entity, while “more than 150” colleagues have done so with another entity.

It is not clear from the communication whether any college has ties to both entities.

The police investigated the documents used by the students

Pratham, a former senior police official from Gujarat who has since retired, was involved in the investigation of the case since January 2022, when the Patels died.

He told The Canadian Press that his team analyzed documents such as certificates and documents used by students to apply to colleges and universities abroad.

The police then contacted the villagers through various societies, asking them for help.

“We have conveyed to the villagers that you should come and tell (us) who are the victims and who are the agents living there,” he said in an interview in Gujarat. “This has helped us in our investigation.”

The process took almost three years as the first step is to establish the crime, charge, investigate and finalize those charges, he said, noting that the Gujarat police received help from their counterparts in Canada and New York.

It also advises those who want to go abroad to study or work to take the legal route.

“There is a legal way to go from India to any country you want,” he said.

Diplomatic tensions between Canada, India

The news of the Indian investigation comes amid tensions with the US over border security, a federal rethinking of international student policyand diplomatic tensions with India over New Delhi’s alleged targeting of Sikh activists in Canada.

US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian goods if Ottawa does not sufficiently crack down on migrants and drugs being smuggled into the US, prompting Ottawa to allocates $1.3 billion over six years to address border security.

before that, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats in Octoberbecause of allegations that they used their position to collect information on Canadians and then passed it on to criminal gangs that directly targeted the individuals.

At the time, Canada also supported it India’s Home Minister ordered intelligence-gathering operations against Sikh separatists advocating for an independent country called Khalistan to be carved out of India. New Delhi rejects Ottawa’s claims.