The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has arrested Tarun Khosla, a Delhi-based ticketing agent, in connection with the Dunkey Route Case — a large-scale money laundering racket that facilitated the illegal transportation of Indian nationals to the United States via dangerous, unauthorised routes through South and Central America. The arrest was made on 23 October 2025 by the ED's Jalandhar Zonal Office under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

Khosla has been remanded to ED custody until 30 October by a Special PMLA Court, according to an official statement.

Who Is Tarun Khosla and What Was His Role

Investigators describe Khosla as a key decision-maker within the Dunkey Route network — responsible for determining routes and pricing for each individual trafficked through the system. According to the ED, Khosla coordinated with multiple agents across Punjab and Haryana who collected passports and cash from aspiring migrants before handing everything over to him in Delhi.

He then arranged visas and air tickets to transit countries including Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, and El Salvador, facilitating onward movement toward the US-Mexico border through illegal and treacherous terrain. Data recovered from his mobile phones revealed incriminating chats in which he operated as an 'immigration-clearance fixer', according to the ED.

His communications with international contacts — identified in the ED statement as 'Mike' in Mexico, 'Ali' in Brazil, and 'Kristi' in Mexico — showed on-ground coordination at foreign airports, including arrangements for immigration clearance, ticket bookings, passenger handling, and dollar-denominated payments. The ED noted that instructions such as 'OK to Board' endorsements and coordination with airline and immigration personnel established his operational control over transit arrangements.

Scale of the Racket and Financial Trail

The case stems from the deportation of more than 300 Indian nationals from the US in February 2025, after they were found to have entered the country illegally through the Mexico border. The ED investigation was launched on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by Punjab Police and Haryana Police under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the Emigration Act, 1983.

According to the ED, would-be migrants were lured by agents with false promises of legal immigration pathways. They were ultimately routed through the Dunkey network at a cost of ₹30 lakh to ₹60 lakh per person. Cash deposits totalling ₹30.38 crore — spread across 414 cash-credit transactions — were traced through Khosla's proprietorship firm BJ International between FY 2022-23 and FY 2024-25.

Searches, Seizures and Attachments

Enforcement action in the case has been extensive. Searches conducted on 9 July 2025 and 11 July 2025 at 19 locations yielded incriminating documents, digital devices, and bogus immigration and visa stamps for Nicaragua and Ethiopia.

On 15 December, the ED provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth ₹5.41 crore — including agricultural land, residential and business premises, and bank balances — identified as proceeds of crime.

Subsequent searches at multiple premises across Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi on 18 December 2025 and 19 December 2025 resulted in the seizure of ₹4.62 crore in cash, gold bars and coins weighing approximately 5.9 kg, silver bars weighing roughly 313 kg, with the total value of seized assets amounting to ₹19.14 crore. Over 50 original passports of third parties, transaction diaries, property documents, and digital devices were also recovered.

Khosla also allegedly arranged forged yellow fever vaccination certificates and managed the network of donkers — local guides used to shepherd migrants through border crossings in dangerous jungle and desert terrain.

Background: What Is the Dunkey Route

The 'Dunkey Route' — a colloquial term derived from the word 'donkey,' used in the Indian diaspora to describe clandestine border crossings — refers to a well-documented but dangerous pathway used by Indian nationals, predominantly from Punjab and Haryana, to reach the US illegally. Migrants typically fly to South or Central American countries on tourist or transit visas before being guided by local fixers and mafia operatives through multiple land borders toward the US-Mexico crossing point. The route is associated with significant risks including extortion, violence, detention, and death.

The ED's arrest of Khosla marks one of the most significant enforcement actions in the case so far, with investigators signalling that the probe into the broader network — spanning agents, money movers, and international facilitators — is ongoing.