Indian officials are investigating a “well-planned conspiracy” between several colleges in Canada and two entities in India for allegedly being involved in trafficking individuals across the Canada-US border.
In a statement released on December 24, the Enforcement Directorate of India (ED) said its investigation is part of an “ongoing probe in the case of Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel… for hatching a well-planned conspiracy, to send the victims/persons to USA through Canada via illegal channel thereby committing the offence of human trafficking.”
The case the ED is referring to dates back to January 2022, when a family of four from Gujarat were found dead on the Canadian-US border. Forced to walk in freezing temperatures, all four family members were discovered near Emerson, Manitoba, on January 19, 2022. Indian police made arrests linked to the case in January 2023.
Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife Vaishali, 37, and their children were found dead at the US-Canada border in January 2022 (Facebook)
Indian authorities said that those accused conspired with each other to lure the family and charge them a large sum of money — around C$92,000 to $102,000 per person.
Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel was accused of overseeing the operation.
According to the ED’s investigation, Patel had “arranged admission of the individuals in Colleges/Universities based in Canada and thereby applied for students’ visa for Canada.”
When the individuals reached Canada, they did not join the colleges and instead crossed over the border into the US. The fee for the college payment was then returned, stated the ED.
The investigation claims two entities based in the Indian cities of Mumbai and Nagpur entered into agreements for admission of students to universities and colleges in foreign countries based on a commission basis.
It also alleges that one entity referred around 25,000 students and another referred 10,000 to different colleges outside of India every year.
“It is further revealed that around 112 colleges based in Canada have entered into agreement with one entity and more than 150 with another entity. Their involvement in the instant case is under investigation,” claimed the agency. The Canadian colleges are not named in the ED’s statement.
These allegations have not been proven in court and the ED says its investigation is ongoing.
In a statement to Daily Hive, the RCMP said it is aware of the ED’s news release and allegations.
“The RCMP has reached out to India through its International Policing Liaison Officers to seek additional information on investigations,” stated an RCMP spokesperson, adding that the national police service doesn’t have further comment at this time.
The news comes as Canada faces tariff threats from US President-elect Donald Trump if measures are not taken to secure the border.
Last week, the federal government laid out a new border security plan in response to Trump’s proposed tariffs.
The new plan is composed of five pillars that will detect and address fentanyl, add significant new tools for law enforcement, improve operation coordination and information sharing, and minimize border volumes to the US. It also shuttered the flagpole immigration practice.
The government’s border plan is backed by a $1.3 billion investment that was announced in the latest fall fiscal update.