Jalandhar, July 14 -- The Enforcement Directorate, which has been investigating PMLA cases linked to illegal immigration through donkey routes to the United States, has confiscated forged immigration stamps of several countries, visa templates and other incriminating digital devices during recent search operation at seven locations in Punjab and Haryana. After carrying out raids at 11 locations in both these states on July 9, the federal agency conducted search operations at Mansa, Kurukshetra and Karnal on July 11 during which the recoveries were made. The operation was carried out on the basis of findings and evidence collected during the previous raids The ED has already intensified the investigation under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), linked to the donkey route - a network facilitating illegal immigration to the US. In previous raids, the probe agency had seized 30 original passports and collected evidence of hawala (illegal) money transactions. In an official statement, the ED said it found that forged immigration stamps and visa templates of foreign countries were used to manipulate the visa records of those who intend to travel abroad. "With such manipulated visa records, the migrants choose the risky donkey routes to travel abroad and settle there. The forged immigration stamps were used to prepare fake visas and the same were used to access illegal entries through the donkers (human trafficking conduits). Credible evidence gathered during raids indicated that the persons searched were involved in generating proceeds of crime out of illegal donkey route business," the ED said. It added that during the search, it came to fore that such travel agents and middlemen had accumulated movable and immovable properties obtained through the proceeds of crime. The ED initiated the action around three months ago under the PMLA on the basis of 19 FIRs against travel agents and middlemen who exploited Indian citizens seeking to enter the US illegally. "During both these search operations, the extensive network of various middlemen, travel agents, Indian nationals and other foreign nationals were investigated. It was found that travel agents, who are involved in regular business activities, also indulged in such malpractices also. Some of the travel agents carry out their business activities with no publicity and they operated in a clandestine manner," the ED probe found. It added that this network also employed certain persons, mostly Indian nationals who are residing abroad. "Primarily, these agents and middlemen used to give false assurances to the deportees of sending them through legal routes. The agents used international mobile numbers to communicate with their foreign counterparts through WhatsApp chats and other encrypted modes. Incriminating evidence recovered during the search suggested that certain payments were routed illegally through hawala channels," the ED said. The agents in collusion with donkers and the mafia used to create threatening situations for the persons to extort more money from their families, the federal agency said. As many as 131 youngsters from Punjab were deported on board US military planes by the Donald Trump administration in February. These deportees had attempted to cross the US-Mexico border illegally between January 23 and 28, only to be apprehended by US border security patrols and sent to detention centres. The ED has recorded the statements of the victims deported from the US. Each deportee had paid between Rs.45 lakh and Rs.55 lakh to travel agents they had never met in person but were connected to through local contacts. The ED asked the deportees to furnish all documents, including bank account details of the travel agents to whom payments were made. Earlier this month, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two alleged "US donkey route" human traffickers after searches at two locations in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. The accused were identified as Sunny of Dharamshala and Shubham Sandhal of Rupnagar, who was residing in Peeragarhi in the national capital. Their names surfaced during interrogation of Gagandeep Singh, who was arrested by the NIA from New Delhi....